Page 34 - Five Forces of Americanisation Richard Hooke 04072025 final post SDR1

The UK Defence Industry in the 21 Century
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The Five Forces of Americanisation

industry. An ally and collaborator. A competitor or opponent. Now a stimulus for uncertainty,
disruption and urgency. Perhaps most influentially, host of one of the world’s major financial markets.

American foreign policy: adjusting to a new style of leadership … ?
“.. the nature of American foreign policy is crucial for all of us. Whichever way we look at the
problems of the world, the question stays fundamental. What do the Americans mean by
leadership? In US foreign policy more than that of any other country, the tension between
idealism and realism is continuous and striking.”
(“The Search for Peace” Douglas Hurd, Little, Brown & Co., 1997)
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House of Commons Defence Committee Oral evidence: One-off Session on the Strategic
Defence Review, 3rd December 2024
Q 33 Mike Martin: “Do you think the UK and NATO could deliver its mission in the Euro-Atlantic
area without the support of the United States?”
Lord Robertson of Port Ellen; Lead Reviewer, Strategic Defence Review
“That is a hypothetical. I do not think it is going to happen. Under the first Trump Administration,
they reinforced their support for NATO. They gave weapons to the Ukrainians. Defence
expenditure was increased and so was the contribution to NATO itself. We will need to wait and
see, but that is a hypothetical issue that will only become relevant when we see what happens
…we are in constant contact”
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Pete Hegseth, US Defence Secretary: The New Yorker, 20 February, 2025
“Hegseth spoke at a press conference in Poland where he suggested that Europeans ought to
prepare themselves for the day when U.S. troops, who have been stationed on the Continent
since the end of the Second World War, begin to come home. “That’s why our message is so stark
to our European allies,’’ Hegseth said. “Now is the time to invest, because you can’t make an
assumption that America’s presence will last forever.”

The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)I KF-21Boromae
First flown in 2022 and built in partnership with Lockheed Martin (USA), the KF-21 is notable for integrating
advanced technologies, including an AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) and a sophisticated
electronic warfare suite, with 65% of its components designed in South Korea. Its bid to sell the aircraft to
the Philippines specified that much of its weaponry would be supplied by Anglo-Franch company, MBDA

Source: Korea Aerospace Industries Limited

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07/07/2025 Richard Hooke 2025