David Cameron Assures £1.1 Billion To Boost Military Surveillance

David Cameron, the British Prime Minister will announce an investment of £1.1 billion in capabilities for the armed forces, UK Ministry of Defense reported on 14th July.

The investment includes an extra £800 million of investment in an Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance package - to extend the range and flexibility of options, including that of our Special Forces capabilities in responding to the threat of global terrorism and hostage taking, and an investment of £300 million in existing capabilities including a new E-Scan radar for Typhoon and the purchase of Ice Patrol Ship HMS Protector.

Visiting the Farnborough International Airshow - where billions of pounds of exports orders are expected over the week which will benefit the UK economy – the Prime Minister will also set out actions taken by the Defense Growth Partnership of industry and government, as part of our long-term economic plan to improve our competitiveness, to boost the UK defense sector which is vital to economic growth, and make sure our armed forces have the best equipment in the world.

These will include

1. Establishing a UK Defense Solutions Centre in Farnborough to bring together industry, with support from government, to develop the defense technologies, identify future market opportunities. The global defense market is estimated to be worth around £82 billion a year to 2022.
2. Launching a £4 million UK Centre for Maritime Intelligent Systems based in Portsmouth. Government, industry and the Local Enterprise Partnership will bring together academics, scientists, engineers and naval specialists to develop cutting-edge technology for use in autonomous unmanned boats, submarines or other vessels
3. Building skills for the future through a new Defense Apprenticeship guide to attract new graduates to the Industry as well as up-skilling the existing workforce. This guide will develop a new Masters level standard in Advanced Systems Engineering, a critical skill to deliver competitive advantage.