International Defence Buyer – Q1: 2026
Welcome to the first issue of International Defence Buyer. The timing for a new defence publication is not accidental. Defence has moved to the forefront of national policy across Europe, the Indo Pacific and North America. Spending commitments are rising, procurement cycles are accelerating and governments are reassessing industrial capacity, sovereign capability and supply chain resilience.
The conflict in Ukraine and intensifying strategic competition have underlined the need for readiness, deterrence and credible industrial depth.
At the same time, the nature of defence acquisition is changing. Artificial intelligence, digital engineering, autonomy and advanced manufacturing are no longer future concepts. They are being integrated into live programmes. The boundaries between land, sea, air, space and cyber are increasingly blurred as armed forces pursue genuinely integrated multi domain operations.
International Defence Buyer launches to serve this environment. Our focus is international, commercially grounded and technically informed. We aim to provide procurement leaders, programme managers and industry executives with practical insight into the technologies and strategies shaping global defence markets.
In our Big Interview, Mark Mathieson, former Formula 1 leader and CEO of PurpleSector, explains how Industrial Racecraft, combined with data and AI, can accelerate programme delivery and strengthen resilience across defence.
Our Innovator this month, is Jacob Duhan, Head of Defence at Gunnebo Safe Storage, who examines how layered physical security supports interoperability, compliance and risk control in multinational defence operations.
This issue’s features span the principal domains of modern capability. In Land, we examine how autonomous and optionally crewed armoured vehicles are moving from trials to procurement, reshaping mobility, force protection and battlefield integration.
In Air Power, we assess how GCAP, FCAS and NGAD are turning air superiority into a networked enterprise of crewed platforms, UAVs and digital architecture.
Our Sustainment and Logistics feature explores how additive manufacturing and digital warehousing could redefine supply chain security and fleet readiness. At Sea, we analyse how navies are reshaping surface fleet procurement to prioritise survivability, forward presence and precision strike capability.
In Space, we explore how proliferated low Earth orbit constellations are shifting defence architecture away from reliance on single geostationary satellites. In Test and Evaluation, we consider how live and virtual training environments are converging to prepare forces for complex multi domain operations.
We also preview this year’s ITEC Defence Training show in London and get to know Ade Morley, Managing Director of Project Selborne, the Royal Navy’s training transformation programme.
We hope you enjoy the first issue and find it a valuable resource as defence enters a period defined by sustained investment, accelerated technological change and heightened geopolitical risk.
