French exports slump, Brazil Gripen latest and US missile defence

In this episode of The Weekly Defence Podcast, the team looks at the latest French exports report;  and, following the most recent annual Gripen seminar from Saab, we discuss interest in extra procurement from Brazil and potential trends in the region. In the second part of the show we look at the US Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) programme.Newsround [01:39]UK procurement minister Jeremy Quin admitted in Parliament on 8 June that there are ‘serious issues’ with the British Army’s Ajax armoured reconnaissance vehicle programme. IOC for the Ajax programme is expected to be achieved later in June, with the UK MoD, contractor General Dynamics UK, and the British Army now struggling to keep pace.  The US Marine Corps has successfully flight-tested a two-way Link 16 connection between a Viper helicopter and a ground station.For the first time, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has rolled out genuine tanks – as opposed to armoured vehicles  – for its marines. In focus Defence Journalist Alix Valenti, News Editor Ben Vogel and Air Editor Tim Martin look at the some of the key points emerging from the French MoD report on national arms exports and discuss the interest in procurement of Saab Gripen E/F fighters in South America.  Interview: Raytheon Missiles and defence [25:52] Ben Vogel is on the line with Bryan Rosselli, VP of Strategic Missiles and Defense at Raytheon, to discuss the benefits and evolution of the Next Generation Interceptor programme. This episode was brought to you in partnership by our sponsor Raytheon Intelligence and Space. Episode was produced by Noemi Distefano with music and sound mixing by Fred Prest.