Briefings : UK contracts, Cheonan, Nimrod

The MOD have concluded it's spending spree ahead of the election. A contract has been signed with BAE Systems to maintain the Hawk T2 trainer fleet and a partnership has been begun with MBDA for future air-launched weapons.

A DPRK mine is now the main suspect in the explosion that destroyed the South Korean corvette Cheonan. It is not known if the mine was recently laid, deliberately placed in South Korean waters or was an old one which drifted there though because no mines dating from the Korean War have been found since the 1980s the former possibility could be more likely. Hopes of finding any of the 46 missing sailors alive are now fading fast.

The Nimrod MR2 has now left service but the RAF is now preparing for the Nimrod MRA4 which will enter service in 2012. The first upgraded Lynx AH9A helicopters will deploy to Afghanistan next month.