Angus Batey has been contributing to various titles within the Aviation Week Network since 2009. He has reported from military bases, industrial facilities, trade shows and conferences, on topics ranging from defense and space to business aviation, advanced air mobility and cybersecurity.
Similarities between the Ocelot Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) and a Williams Formula One racing car are hard to spot. As they sit side-by-side at the U.K. Defense Ministry’s Defense Equipment and Support (DE&S) campus here, the ultra-lightweight F1 machine barely reaches the height of the Ocelot’s run-flat tires, and the military vehicle’s 70-mph. top speed will never threaten a Grand Prix team. Yet Ocelot is the first fruit of Motorsport to Defense (M2D), a U.K.
There are few surprises presented in the U.K.’s Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR), but the elevation of cyberdefense to the top level of perceived threats seems to be one of them.
If everything goes as planned, the transition of Britain’s northern Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) mission from the Tornado F3 to the Eurofighter Typhoon next March will be as simple as turning on a light. “There’s a [communication] switch in each HAS (hardened aircraft shelter) that says ‘Tornado/Typhoon’,” notes Sqdn. Leader Toria McPhaden, commanding officer of the Station Services Squadron (S3) at RAF Leuchars. “You switch it across and everything will be fine.”
