Member Info for Muck165

Govt press release from earlier today for info

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-defence-growth-deals-created-to-boost-local-economies-under-major-sector-plan

I especially liked this bit

The first Defence Growth deals will be in the following areas: - Plymouth – With £4bn of naval investment over the next decade, Plymouth will become the UK's national centre for marine autonomy.

As far as I can see that pretty much means Babc.

Thanks Laura

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2dzlrm0jno

Agree Aklee.

Interesting post from Paul over the weekend

“Primes have an impossible job trying to engage the sea of SMEs, despite many efforts, it will always feel like it’s not enough. Soon, engaging RC Fornax will be engaging all SMEs. We’re stepping into the void with technology to connect primes and SMEs. No more talking shops and memberships to get you some airtime… truly connected buyers and suppliers with our propriety suite of interconnected tools.”

Clearly positioning as THE interface between primes and the U.K. SME ecosystem that the govt expects will be a key part of bids.

About 9 mins in.

Basically echoing others - we have a stock in recovery mode and a 22 first target.

Personally I think that could come quickly, and possibly even tomorrow.

https://www.share-talk.com/traders-cafe-with-zak-mir-bulletin-board-heroes-weekend-edition-sunday-7th-september-2025/

And just another little observation, but price rose and and held above the 20DMA on Friday. RSI signals we’re oversold, MACD signal line is moving above trend, we have a great looking gap up on the charts, and momentum is with us.

If there were to be an announcement then it would light the fuse to the powder keg, at least in my view.

I could re-phrase this by just asking a question.

DSEI is the biggest arms fair in the world, held just once every two years. Why on earth would RCFX come away slap banging in the middle of it to have a pow wow with investors?

Just an observation, but the choice of 10/9 for the investor evening seems very odd to me given that it falls smack bang in the middle of DSEI. The most obvious explanation, at least for me, would be that RCFX could be making an announcement of some kind just before or at the very start of DSEI (which runs 9-12/9).

In this respect, a couple of weeks ago RCFX put out a post about their pride in supporting Bab, finishing it with “stay tuned - we’ll be sharing another exciting announcement ahead of DSEI London”.

I had wondered if the more recent news about RCFX partnering with Bab on GDAMS was it. Now Im not so sure. That news was put out by Bab, not us after all.

Speculation I know, but I think there’s some prospect of an announcement tomorrow or first thing Tuesday, which explains why they prefer to devote time to an Investor evening rather than on networking and business generation at DSEI.

Don’t know why the last came out lower case.

Point is that BC are demonstrating GDAMS at DSEI next week. We’re partnered on that project. The SME funding expected in respect of it is £81m, if BC win the contract.

But then wouldn’t it be nice if BC announced they’d won it at DSEI.

as others have mentioned bab*******, recently confirmed they’ve partnered with us. they said

“we’ve partnered with british engineering sme, rc fornax, to design a transformational digital approach to onboard mortar munitions management.

developed as part of our sovereign 120mm ground deployed advanced mortar system (gdams) offering, our new digital ammunition racking (dar) plays a key role in driving efficiency, accuracy and pace into ‘shoot and scoot’ fire missions.”

on thursday they posted to say

“we’re proud to be demonstrating our sovereign, fully integrated 120mm ground deployed advanced mortar system (gdams) capability at dsei 2025. this capability represents a major opportunity for uk defence supporting 230 skilled jobs directly and 1000 jobs indirectly at peak, strengthening our industrial base and contributing to our national security.

independent analysts at oxford economics have projected that if this contract is secured, the programme would contribute £225m for uk gdp, delivering a significant economic boost to the south west in particular. for every £1 spent with bab**** on this capability, the treasury could expect to receive close to £4 in return in value for the uk. this would also see over £81m spend with british smes through the wider supply chain.

developed and built at our devonport facility, our 120mm mortar solution will complement, sustain and extend the supacat hmtv jackal production line thereby creating, upskilling, and protecting skilled engineering jobs for years to come. delivering the defence dividend, this capability will secure a fully integrated sovereign solution for the uk armed forces, alongside significantly benefiting economic and social impact in the communities in which we work.”

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bab****-international-group_were-proud-to-be-demonstrating-our-sovereign-activity-7369285688539762689-gu3n?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=acoaaeui5eibooawepy_ubn_ckcfoztxaabn1ha

so, the project we’ve partnered on is expected to see £81m spent with sme’s and the wider supply chain. clearly we will only get a share of that…..but still!

Just to demonstrate the point that Hesgeth is doubling down on Cyber Security across all DoD departments and, importantly, any company wanting to contract with them.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilsayegh/2025/08/05/dod-secretary-hegseth-draws-a-line-cybersecurity-no-longer-optional/

Yep. I don’t agree with the negative postings on here insofar as they pertain to outlook. We look oversold, with limited stock available, gathering interest in a great space, Director skin in the game, great partnership potential, and a book that moves fast.

Took some early yesterday.

I don’t think we’re that unusual in experiencing customer decision making delays in the run up to and immediately post the SDR and I do think this will be unwinding now. Trading at pretty much all time lows in a hot space and a tasty looking gap up on the charts. Smartscope should be out for testing soon, and I see we’re exhibiting at DSEI next week (not wholly surprising but could easily generate business and possibly be a platform for announcements).

Agree.

But to note, in the Archer interview AM made clear that they would take whatever award funding was available as long as bid process didn’t delay their clear speed of deployment priority.

As I say, they are laser focussed on delivering at speed - war time pace I think he called it. That should mean a flurry of future news here I think.

It bears repeating what AM said to Archer when interviewed…

Archer - “you alluded to it a second ago, but I’m guessing another strategic tech partner or potentially a hyperscaler will be coming on board shortly. Can you speculate on that? Can you give us a timeline?”

AM - Yeah, so super delighted. You’re seeing me smile because I can see the roadmap up ahead. Some exciting announcements. There is an application, two actually, already in production, the first one we will announcing at DSEI alongside Whitespace and one of the hyperscalers. One of the great things about working with Whitespace is that they have spent a long time building a large technology partnership with many hyperscalers”

So it seems clear the announcement will be made jointly with the hyperscaler, and AM is a very happy chappy about it.

The other really notable thing I took away from the interview was how much AM stressed our focus on speed of deployment, which he said would be in “weeks, not months or years”. So I think we will continue to see things happening very fast and on a frequent basis here.

Whitespace are exhibiting, and Bertie is part of a panel discussion on 10th in the afternoon.

For my money though, any announcement will likely be done early on the first day (9th), with a press briefing at the Whitespace stand. From what I can see this is more usual, and it makes sense because the media and analysts tend to focus on the first day.

DSEI opens at 8am.

If we assume the announcement is material then we’ll get an RNS, which I expect will coincide with the actual timing of the announcement rather than the usual 7am.

Apologies if already posted.

We know Bertie is speaking at DSEI.

The exhibitor listings are now available.

https://www.dsei.co.uk/visit/exhibiting-companies?page=6&azLetterField=

Neither Defence Holdings, or Defence Technologies are listed.

Whitespace are - https://www.dsei.co.uk/visit/exhibiting-companies?&azletter=W&searchgroup=65207D8C-exhibitors-list

They’re described as “ Whitespace is a UK sovereign SME helping Defence and National Security organisations boost productivity and cut costs through tailored, operational AI capabilities. Headquartered in Belfast, we’ve developed Collective OS – a secure AI operating system built for rapid development and deployment across any environment, from air-gapped systems and edge devices to secure cloud infrastructure. Our technology is designed for mission-critical settings: automating time-consuming tasks, reducing the manual burden on personnel, and accelerating decision-making — all without compromising on trust, control, or performance. Everything we deliver is secure by design and aligned to the needs of sovereign, classified, and disconnected environments. Collective OS powers every solution, enabling fast integration with existing infrastructure and workflows while meeting the highest standards for assurance and governance. We’re already supporting live defence programmes — helping organisations turn AI into real capability, not just proof-of-concepts.

AI driven defence stocks are booming. I'm in some and believe in them, but they are still building out.

We have already done that, and had the product validated by P1/Iron Bank. It's just a matter of take up. But Hesgeth has specifically directed a need to protect the software supply chain. And Ranger had at least 2 years head start on any competitor offering - if you want to protect against social engineering attacks in the supply chain then we are about the only game in town.

I've added more today at these levels because I think this will move once peeps cotton on.

Price just ticked up but not corresponding print, so likely to be a sizeable buy printed in an hour or so. Someone seems happy to soak up the supply at these levels

I’ve mentioned this before, but to note again.

A couple of months ago Hesgeth sent a memo to the entire DoD instructing them instructing that the DoD “will not procure any hardware or software susceptible to adversarial foreign influence” and “must prevent such adversaries from introducing malicious capabilities into the products and services that are utilized by the Department.”

In other words, you’ve all got to protect the OSS supply chain against attack. That is exactly what Ranger was designed to do.

https://www.tectonicdefense.com/the-pentagon-hits-the-software-supply-chain-panic-button/