Dart Webinar

How maintaining aircraft on the military front line led to shaping how digital systems are used across Defence.

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:12:43 GMT

Mark Beacham, Customer Integration Engineer at tlmNexus talks about trust, change and making systems work.

After 25 years in the Army, Mark Beacham knows what it means to work in environments where accuracy, trust and clarity really matter.

Starting his career as an aircraft maintenance engineer working on Lynx and Gazelle helicopters, Mark progressed steadily, leaving the service as a Warrant Officer in an Engineering Management role. Along the way, he worked across a wide range of platforms, from Apache and Wildcat helicopters to Islander and Defender fixed-wing aircraft, and was part of the Attack Helicopter Transition Team responsible for bringing the new Apache eModel into service.

Today, as a Customer Integration Engineer at tlmNexus, Mark sits at the vital intersection between customers, developers and delivery teams, shaping systems around operational experience, not trying to force people to work around technology.

‘The customer inside the company’

Mark sees himself as more than a customer advocate; he’s almost a customer based inside tlmNexus:

“From my experience in the customer domain, I understand the regulatory frameworks our customers must operate to, and the environments they work in,” he explains. “I bring this knowledge into the company and make sure what we deliver are systems that help people to do an even more effective job more easily.”

It is about ensuring alignment between policy, process, technology and people.

He works closely with analysts and developers, attends sprint demos, supports early-life delivery, and remains involved long after a system goes live, channelling customer feedback back into the development process.

“I sit across three areas at once,” he says. “It’s an overwatch role making sure things are done correctly and in line with policy.”

Managing change in a constantly shifting environment

Much of Mark’s work centres around the tlmNexus Resolve toolkit, an evergreen system used across the UK Armed Forces on more than 25 different aircraft types. While the software remains the same, how it is used varies significantly between services, platforms and DT’s (delivery teams).

“An RAF team may use Resolve very differently from how an Army or Navy team uses it,” Mark explains. “Then, within those different segments, each DT has its own way of doing business.”

Regulatory change is a constant drumbeat. Policies set by the Military Aviation Authority (MAA) evolve regularly, and tlmNexus’ systems must evolve with them.

“We say our product is evergreen and we mean it,” he says. “When policy changes, the toolkit changes too.”

This requires deep domain knowledge, careful triage and a strong sense of proportion. Not every request for change is urgent or, in the greater scheme of things, worthwhile.

“We look at value. Is this change going to help the whole community, or just one user? Is it a ‘priority one’ compliance issue, or a ‘nice to have’?”

Mark plays a key role in triaging change requests, helping decide where investment delivers the biggest return.

When small changes make a big difference

For Mark, the most satisfying moments come when relatively simple changes have a meaningful operational impact. He recalls a recent update to how technical publication changes are managed, ensuring that when a procedure is updated and approved, the right people are notified automatically.

“It means the maintainer at the front line knows they’re working with the most up-to-date, correct information,” he says. “That reduces risk and improves safety. That’s what it’s all about.” These changes don’t always make headlines, but they matter deeply.

The human side of integration

Mark is clear that communication is as important as technical expertise in his role.

“Maintaining good customer relationships is fundamental,” he says. “Regular engagement, update meetings, training, looking at how tools are actually being used; all of these are central to how we help customers get real value.”

Return on investment, he explains, isn’t just about functionality. It’s about adoption.

“If the tool becomes ingrained in how people do their work, they’ll keep coming back with ideas. That’s where the best innovation comes from; working together.”

Internally, Mark often acts as a bridge, bringing developers and analysts into conversations with customers when needed, ensuring nothing is lost in translation.

Finding the right fit at tlmNexus

Mark joined tlmNexus after leaving the Army and found it helped him in rebalancing priorities.

“With two young children, I wanted to be closer to home,” he says. “I’d missed too many milestones.”

Having already worked closely with Resolve in his final Army role, the move felt natural. Several tlmNexus colleagues knew him well and encouraged him to apply. “It was a perfect fit,” he smiles.

The culture resonated immediately. “There are a lot of ex-service people here. The values align; getting best value, doing things properly, supporting the customer. It feels familiar in a good way.”

Making time to breathe

One of the biggest adjustments Mark has made is learning to temper the military instinct to push ever harder.

“I came in with a mindset that told me to work all hours, get it done now,” he says. “That was how I was trained.”

At tlmNexus, he found something different. “There’s flexibility. Trust. You can take your kids to nursery. You can put something down and come back to it later. That was a breath of fresh air; but I still have that ‘never give up’ mentality.”

What you may not know about Mark - a mindset reflected on the mountains

Outside work, Mark’s resilience is channelled into cycling. He is a member of the Club des Cinglés du Mont Ventoux, having completed the formidable challenge of climbing the mountain three times in one day via all three of its routes.

“It’s about mental strength,” he says, “putting yourself somewhere else mentally and getting through it.”

That resilience still serves him, now with a healthy balance.

Why Mark’s role really matters

In the final analysis, Mark’s role is about judgement. He explains: “Knowing when to say yes. Knowing when to say ‘not yet’. Knowing when the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.”

It’s that calm, experienced decision-making, grounded in true operational understanding, that makes customer integration such a critical function at tlmNexus.

And for Mark, the reward is simple. “When the customer is happier, more efficient, and safer because of what we’ve delivered — that’s the warm fuzzy feeling. That’s the point.”

What refrigeration engineering has to do with Defence software integration

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:58:56 GMT

Clive Abrahams is one of our Enhanced Integration Support engineers and here, we gain an insight into his career, his current role and the man outside work.

Having spent the first 15 years of his career working on refrigeration installations for major UK supermarkets, Clive Abrahams had become very good at getting immersed in technical problem-solving and research and development. But as commercial pressures intensified and margins tightened across the sector, he decided he needed to find a new specialism.

His return to college just before the millennium to retrain in IT proved to be a defining decision. Whilst when he made the move, people were being hired left, right and centre because of the feared ‘millennium bug’, and then were being ‘let go’ just as fast when the bug proved to have very little bite, his decision nonetheless opened the door to roles at organisations including QinetiQ at Boscombe Down and Abbey Wood, where he became involved in software projects supporting aviation engineering teams. One of those early projects was helping to build and code the TIMS database for the Typhoon programme, and this would later shape the thinking behind tlmNexus’ critically important product, Resolve.

As with many valuable people, when he was made redundant, the timing coincided with an opportunity. Having already crossed paths with several future tlmNexus colleagues, he joined the business in 2010 as one of its early team members. At the time, there were around thirty people; today, the organisation has more than doubled in size.

Bringing a different perspective

Coming from a non-military background has influenced the way Clive approaches integration work. “Working alongside the military, you see how processes can become very siloed. Sometimes you need someone looking at things from a slightly different angle and asking ‘why?’ and not just ‘how?’.”

Clive had worked in customer-facing retail environments as well as hands-on engineering work and this shaped his practical, people-focused mindset. Listening, understanding pressure points, and translating technical change into operational benefit became core strengths that continue to define his work today.

Building Resolve across platforms

Soon after joining tlmNexus, Clive became closely involved in expanding Resolve beyond its original Typhoon environment. Working alongside Tony Graves, (who has since retired from his pivotal senior role in building tlmNexus), Clive supported project teams across multiple locations, travelling frequently to RAF Coningsby and RNAS Culdrose while helping to embed the system into new platforms.

The rollouts to Merlin and Chinook helicopters around 2012 were particularly demanding.

“Winning hearts and minds was the hardest part,” Clive remembers. “You cannot just rebadge an existing system; you have to understand how each team operates. Even within the same regulatory environment, every platform has its own nuances and ways of working.”

Those deployments required long hours, extensive training sessions, and a willingness to adapt the product based on real operational feedback. The outcome was not only broader adoption but also increased return on investment for customers and sustained growth for tlmNexus.

EIS (Enhanced Integration Support): the role today

In his current position within EIS, the focus is on bridging the gap between technical capability and operational reality.

Clive’s day-to-day work spans customer engagement, service desk support, and helping front-line teams to manage maintenance, airworthiness, and safety processes through tlmNexus applications. The emphasis is less on coding and more on understanding people.

“The art of integration is listening. You have to balance what the customer needs with what is sustainable for the business. Sometimes that means knowing when to go the extra mile, and when not to give too much away in the desire to help.”

Face-to-face engagement remains a cornerstone of his approach. While remote collaboration tools are useful, he believes real progress usually comes from sitting alongside users and understanding their environment firsthand.

Projects that made a difference

Among the achievements Clive is most proud of is the transformation of the MOD’s F760 Narrative Fault Reporting process. Previously managed through disconnected Excel documents and email chains, the workflow made tracking and accountability difficult.

Clive worked with multiple stakeholders, to help design and implement an end-to-end process within Resolve. This change took months of consultation, negotiation, and training.

“It was not just about technology. It was about trust; helping people to see that the new way would make their jobs easier, not harder.”

Another memorable achievement came during a Lynx rollout, where entrenched working practices initially met strong resistance. Through persistence, collaboration with platform leaders, and clear communication of the bigger picture, adoption eventually took hold, leading to future platforms such as Wildcat.

Culture and collaboration

Having witnessed tlmNexus grow from a small team into a larger SME (Small-to-Medium Enterprise) Clive believes trust and autonomy are defining cultural strengths.

“We are trusted to get on with the job,” he elaborates. “Experience counts in the eyes of our senior management team, and there isn’t constant micromanagement, which makes a big difference to how effectively you can support customers.”

The collaborative environment allows integration engineers to draw on in-house expertise across development, service delivery, and customer success teams, ensuring that solutions reflect both operational realities and technical innovation.

A practical outlook on technology

While enthusiastic about innovation, Clive retains a grounded perspective on emerging trends such as AI. “Technology needs to serve real operational needs,” he says, “and we must always keep that front of mind as we continue to develop solutions, rather than creating technology just because we can.”

Life beyond work

Outside work, Clive’s life is centred around the beauty of the Cotswolds, where he and his family have lived for several years. Cycling through back lanes, and keeping on top of the house and garden provide a balance to a career spent navigating complex defence environments.

A long-standing passion for classic cars including rebuilding engines and restoring vehicles, draws on the same methodical mindset that underpins his professional approach.

Something not everyone knows about Clive

Few things reveal Clive’s personal resolve* more clearly than how he tackled a deep fear of heights: not by avoiding it, but by undertaking a series of parachute jumps.

*Pun intended…

Looking ahead

After more than a decade at tlmNexus, Clive continues to be motivated by solving problems that genuinely help customers.

“When a ticket gets resolved quickly, or a process starts running more smoothly, you know you’ve made a difference. That’s what keeps me going,” he smiles.

e Library v2 unlocks new publishing power for Resolve users

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 19:50:17 GMT

tlmNexus recently announced the release of e‑Library Version 2, the next generation of its secure digital document management and publishing platform, optimised for defence and highly regulated environments.

This major update introduces capabilities that make publishing from Resolve, the company’s collaborative issue management system, faster, easier, and more flexible than ever before.

Why e‑Library for Resolve?

e‑Library is a secure, web‑enabled solution that enables users to publish, version manage and distribute fully traceable documents and data across defence networks. It supports compliance with MOD network standards and accelerates publication of approved data, reducing turnaround from hours or days to just minutes.

What’s new for Resolve users in v2

Version 2 delivers two key enhancements designed specifically as a result of collaborative conversations with Resolve users:

Publish from any Resolve module
Users can now publish directly from any Resolve module, streamlining workflows and eliminating duplication.
Manual publication from desktop or other applications
Users gain full control over versioning and cancellations with manual publishing options outside Resolve, ensuring flexibility for unique operational needs.

These improvements mean faster publishing cycles, greater usability, and more operational flexibility, whilst maintaining the traceability, security, and compliance that e‑Library is known for.

e‑Library Version 2 is available now. To learn more or request a demonstration, visit http://www.tlmnexus.com/e-library or contact Sophie Parkinson at SParkinson@tlmnexus.com .

We are grateful to Defence Imagery for the use of its Crown Copyright photograph

The calm reliability behind tlmNexus’ information systems

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:30:03 GMT

James Page, Head of Information Technology at tlmNexus, knows that smooth-running systems are never accidental.

The consistency and confidence his team provides to colleagues across the organisation come from constant vigilance, careful judgement and deep experience in keeping complex systems secure, compliant and reliable.

IT has never been just a job for James. It’s something that has been an integral part of his life for as long as he can remember. He says, “I suppose it’s in my blood. I’ve always been surrounded by computers. My dad was a software engineer, so I grew up with Sinclair ZX Spectrum and 286 computers around the house. I was building PCs with him from about the age of five.”

Through college and university, James knew that IT was his future, and while he initially thought software development would be the path, he soon realised his strengths lay elsewhere. “I didn’t quite gel with programming,” he explains, “so I studied Computer Networks Management and Design at the University of Portsmouth, learning from very talented professors.

James began his working IT career in Brighton with a property investment company and from there, joined his father’s business, ICS Electronics, which specialises in the Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems (GMDSS). It was a formative period that lasted seven years, and took him far beyond the UK.

“I worked on several projects deploying GMDSS coast guard systems in several countries around the world incuding Tanzania, Lybia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and various upgrades for the US. I also played a big role in the UK National NAVTEX system upgrade. This system broadcasts navigational information over radio including weather warnings; comparable to a electronic version of the shipping forecast. It was a very fulfilling job, and all about safety and reliability.”

Finding his place at tlmNexus

After several years, James felt the pull of change, which led him to tlmNexus.

“I came across an IT manager role here that I really wanted,” he recalls. “I didn’t quite have the experience at the time, so I joined as a support engineer. From there, I worked my way up.”

Eleven years later, James leads the IT function.

Recently he was reminded of his longevity and deep familiarity with the organisation. While helping his team resolve an issue, James realised he’d come across it before, and dug into the system history. “I found a ticket from ten years ago, and realised I’d fixed the same problem back then,” he laughs.

More than systems and support desks

James’ enjoyment of his role goes well beyond technology. “I appreciate being able to influence the direction of the business,” he says, “and making sure what we do supports how our platforms and products are delivered to customers.”

Much of his focus today is on compliance, security and resilience, ensuring tlmNexus’ systems are robust, secure and fit for the environment they operate in. Of course, James is also helping steer innovation, from business intelligence to carefully considered AI capabilities.

“It’s about trying to move the company in the right direction,” he says. “That’s very fulfilling.”

A familiar purpose in a different domain

With his maritime safety background, James sees a strong thread connecting his earlier career with his work today. “Before tlmNexus, I was building systems designed to save lives at sea,” he explains. “Here, it’s about airworthiness, safety and robust processes which make it quicker, easier and more likely that aircraft can be operated and maintained correctly.”

They are different domains, and there is the same underlying principle: reliability matters.

A culture that feels like home

“Working at tlmNexus feels like an extended family,” he says. “There’s a very low staff turnover and most people have known each other a long time, which can be very valuable for our customers.” He describes an organisation where collaboration is natural, not forced.

“It’s never siloed. In IT especially, we speak to everyone every day. It’s open, welcoming, positive, and it genuinely feels like a second home when you walk into the office.”

This feeling was apparent from the very start. “I remember my induction week, meeting people across the business and realising just how knowledgeable and professional everyone was. It gave me real confidence that I’d joined the right company.”

The invisible work that keeps everything running

James is acutely aware that when IT is working well, most of what his team does goes unnoticed. “We’re constantly monitoring infrastructure and security,” he explains. “Systems alert us to disk capacity, vulnerabilities, patching issues including dodgy updates that could compromise systems if applied blindly.” That invisibility is a mark of success. “If nobody notices there’s been an issue, it means we’re doing our job properly.”

Responsibility, trust and judgement

In a fast-moving security landscape, James believes trust in systems is non-negotiable. “Vulnerabilities often come from things slipping through the cracks,” he says. “That’s why we use guardrails, test groups and controlled patch libraries, and have a very robust disaster recovery plan in place.”

James and his team have built much of this resilience over time. “When I took over as manager eight years ago, a lot of this simply didn’t exist and especially since Covid, we’ve put a huge amount of effort into becoming more predictive rather than reactive.”

That work now pays dividends, including passing demanding certifications with confidence.

“Things like Cyber Essentials Plus, and now the Defence Cyber Certification are challenging, but they’re manageable because we’ve put the foundations in place.”

James is also keenly aware of the financial responsibility that comes with his role.

“IT departments can spend money very quickly,” he says. “I’m always conscious of budgets and making sure we’re investing wisely. We don’t have enterprise-scale IT budgets, so things like AI need to be approached carefully and for the right reasons.”

Pride in people

James doesn’t talk about systems or platforms when he’s asked about what he is most proud of building at tlmNexus: “My team,” he says, without hesitation. He describes building a close-knit group over several years, particularly through the pressures of the Covid period.

“They’re a great bunch of people. We work efficiently, we get on brilliantly, and there’s a real sense of trust and teamwork.”

Looking ahead

After a year focused on consolidation, of which James says, “some of it has been slow, policy-heavy and not the most exciting,” James is energised by what’s next. “Now we’re in a position to deploy new capabilities, onboard new customers and explore automation and AI in a sensible way,” he says. “Seeing that groundwork pay-off is really satisfying.”

Outside the office

Away from IT, James has no shortage of passions.

He’s a keen cook and says, “I make a pretty mean roast”, and a lifelong car enthusiast. With friends, he co-founded a race team competing in Citroën C1 Racing Club endurance racing, including most recently a 24-hour race at Portimão in Portugal where he acheived a podium result for his class. “We’ve built some quite serious IT into the racing setup,” he says, smiling. “Mobile data stations, mounted screens, 3D-printed housings are just some of the activities bringing our ‘IT knowledge’ to motorsport.”

He’s raced against many notable racing drivers, even The Stig.

He is also a motorbike enthusiast, riding a limited-edition Triumph Bonneville Scrambler (our photo shows James with his dog Boomer looking for all the world like he's ready to ride); he has a past interest in brewing his own beer which is fuelled by an existing interest in real ale.

James is never short of projects. “I don’t get bored,” he says simply. “There’s always something to work towards.”

And here’s something surprising

As well as being a leader in IT, James’ Dad is a big Led Zeppelin fan, and in fact James Page was named after the band’s beloved founder Jimmy Page.

Issues Management at scale across Defence Aviation

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 17:35:57 GMT

The observations in this case study are based on an interview with a senior Resolve user and subject matter expert.

Background

Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, supports the delivery and sustainment of military aircraft across the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.

Resolve, developed and operated by tlmNexus, is used by DE&S as an Issues Management Software as a Service across more than 30 air platforms.

The observations in this case study are based on an interview with a senior Resolve user and subject matter expert.

The requirement: fragmented information and growing risk

Before the introduction of Resolve, issues management across DE&S aviation teams relied on a patchwork of spreadsheets, PDFs, paper forms and personal inboxes.

Information moved slowly and inconsistently:

Queries were sent by email and often sat unread when individuals were on leave or unavailable
Paper records and electronic files were difficult to track and easy to misplace
Significant time was spent simply administering information rather than progressing issues

As a senior user explained, “Important questions could languish in an inbox somewhere, creating uncertainty and unnecessary delay.”

The risk was not theoretical. Without a structured issues management system, oversight was limited and assurance relied heavily on individual experience and memory rather than evidence.

Why incremental change was not enough

Resolve was first introduced on Typhoon and subsequently adopted more widely across other platforms. Over time, the central airworthiness team took ownership of the contract, making it available to any DE&S team that needed it.

Today, more than 30 teams use Resolve.

For teams without it, the alternative would be to recreate the same capability manually, typically through spreadsheets and disconnected records; this is a solution widely recognised as inadequate for regulated, safety-critical environments.

The need for Resolve was driven by frontline delivery teams:

Engineers and practitioners needed a reliable way to raise, answer and track issues.

Engineering authorities needed clear visibility and traceability.

Senior leaders needed confidence that issues were being handled correctly and consistently

What changed: visibility, structure and control

The most immediate difference after adopting Resolve was the ability to gain a complete oversight of issues appertaining to the maintenance and safety of each air platform.

Each individual team gained a clear, shared view of:

How many issues, queries or change artefacts were active
Who was responsible for each item
Where capacity constraints existed
Which tasks were progressing and which required intervention

This visibility worked at multiple levels. Individuals could manage their own workload more effectively. Managers could see when someone needed support or reprioritisation. Leadership could understand volume, trends and pressure points across platforms.

Resolve did not simplify regulation, nor was it expected to. Instead, it signposted what information was required at each stage, ensuring regulatory processes were followed correctly without the need for manual coordination.

Crucially, it removed the need for someone to ‘manage the spreadsheet’, de-risking the process and freeing up time for higher-value work.

Better decisions made with confidence

For senior users accountable for engineering judgement, Resolve changed the quality of decision-making.

With all questions, answers and supporting material held in one place:

Similar historical queries could be searched and referenced
Responses became more consistent and complete
Decisions were made with a fuller understanding of context and implications

Resolve not only improved the speed in which decisions could be made, it also improved confidence in the answers being given.

From a senior perspective, the system also provided something that had previously been difficult to quantify: management information about risk.

By analysing volumes, trends and workload over time, leaders could:

Assess whether risk exposure was increasing or reducing
Take a more informed, risk-based approach to prioritisation
Understand organisational resilience rather than relying on anecdotal evidence

Assurance, traceability and accountability

Resolve strengthened assurance by evidencing activity rather than simply recording outcomes.

From an audit and compliance perspective, the system clearly shows:

Who raised a query
Who responded
What changes were made
When actions were taken
How an issue progressed through to authorised resolution

This level of traceability reduced reliance on institutional memory and made it far easier to demonstrate due diligence when required.

A senior user said, “Risk is no longer just discussed; it is evidenced.”

Behavioural and cultural impact

Beyond process, Resolve influenced how teams engage with data.

With access to structured, historical information:

Data could be analysed, compared and presented meaningfully
Trends across aircraft, platforms or issue types became visible
Decisions could be informed by evidence rather than assumption

While human judgement remains essential, Resolve encourages more consistent behaviour across teams by providing a shared framework for how issues are handled.

Value realised in day-to-day operations

Resolve is now embedded in everyday activity.

Almost all engineering and airworthiness work has some interaction with the system, enabling teams to:

Maintain oversight of issue volume and distribution
Avoid rework and duplication
Prevent loss of critical changes and documentation

One example cited was the avoidance of losing hundreds of changes to a single publication; an outcome that would previously have been difficult to prevent.

Long-term confidence

Trust in Resolve comes not only from the system itself, but from how it evolves.

Users value:

A system that mirrors policy and supports work aligned with it
Responsiveness from the organisation behind the software

Ongoing refinement as regulations, processes and expectations change

A senior user puts it thus: “Resolve is the answer. Now, what is the question?”

Having experienced life without it, and having had the benefit of Resolve for some years, the value is clear.

Summary

Across more than 30 DE&S aviation platforms, Resolve has become a critical part of how issues are managed, evidenced and resolved.

This is achieved by making complex, regulated processes visible, traceable and controllable.

For further information and a demonstration on Resolve please email or call us .

How Enhanced Integration Support (EIS) is strengthening digital capability

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 07:15:01 GMT

Introducing and enhancing digital capability in defence requires time, coordination and sustained commitment from teams already operating under complex regulatory, operational and security constraints.

There are the familiar challenges when digitising critical workflows:

Complex legacy systems that cannot be replaced overnight
Changing ‘the way we have always done it’ can be uncomfortable
Data is usually held across multiple formats and locations
Strict regulatory and security requirements are always in place
Limited internal capacity to troubleshoot issues while maintaining operational tempo

Without support, the best-designed programmes can struggle.

Enhanced Integration Support (EIS) from tlmNexus Integration Engineers overcomes these challenges.

A Practical approach to integration

With EIS, an experienced tlmNexus specialist works directly alongside the customer’s team, either on site or remotely, and provides hands-on guidance during integration and adoption. The Integration Engineer becomes part of the working environment, helping users to navigate challenges as they arise.

Working closely with engineering, compliance and operational stakeholders, the specialist helps to:

Assess existing records and understand legacy data structures
Support configuration and data mapping
Enable secure migration of information
Ensure tlmNexus solutions integrate cleanly within your wider digital systems

The focus is on building confidence and ensuring that systems perform as expected.

Supporting long-term success

After ‘go live’, as processes and demands from the team evolve, organisations gain ongoing support to maintain momentum.

EIS provides continued assistance with troubleshooting, workflow refinement and optimisation. By maintaining a close connection with users, tlmNexus engineers ensure that solutions remain aligned to what is actually happening, delivering both immediate impact and sustained long-term value.

Reducing risk and strengthening operational readiness

EIS enables organisations to realise the full benefit of their digital investment. By embedding experienced expertise within the team, it helps reduce integration risk, improve operational readiness and strengthen confidence in decision-making across the lifecycle of the platform.

To learn more about how EIS can help your organisation to integrate new capability with confidence, contact the tlmNexus team.

From literary archives to Advanced Systems

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 10:37:07 GMT

Behind the scenes with tlmNexus Senior Developer Chaz Newman

The way tlmNexus Senior Software Developer Chaz Newman approaches software development reflects a career shaped by curiosity, opportunity and experience.

His professional journey began when he left college in Brighton and began working for a company specialising in document digitisation and conversion. What started as a simple scanning task soon became something far more unusual. He found himself handling antique, rare and out-of-print books, some robust enough to be guillotined and fed through scanners, others so precious they required white gloves, foot-controlled planetary scanners, and extreme care.

“It was meticulous work,” he recalls. “I spent a month working in the Tower of London scanning their archives, and later a few weeks with the Royal Geographic Society, where I remember a bell used to ring mid-morning and a lady went around with tea and biscuits on a trolley.”

Over time, his role evolved. He gradually moved into IT within the document digitisation company, starting in a junior position and working his way up through various IT roles before eventually becoming IT Manager, a role he held for nearly three years. Despite the progress and the seniority he had attained, something was missing.

“I realised what I loved most was the creative side of IT; programming, software development and building something that solves a real problem. As an IT manager, my role had become more about policies, processes and managing people. I missed the fun.”

By 2021, like many people during the Covid period, he felt ready for change. He turned to LinkedIn, looking for a role that would allow him to return to hands-on software development, even though making that shift without a formal development title wasn’t easy.

“I’d done lots of development work in practice and as a hobby, but it was hard to convince employers that I could do the job. That’s why I’m so grateful that tlmNexus gave me the chance.”

Solving problems that matter

Ask him what he does at tlmNexus, and he laughs.

“My wife and kids still don’t really know; ‘the writing on the screen’ is how they describe it.”

In simple terms, he sees his role as listening carefully to customers, understanding the problems they’re trying to solve, and building systems that genuinely make their work easier.

What does a good day look like in Chaz’s world? He says, “One where I start with a technical problem that I am not sure I can solve. By the end of the day, I have cracked about 80% of it, and the rest clicks into place as my brain works on it overnight.”

He thrives on the knotty, hidden challenges, such as getting two systems to talk to each other, translating data from one format into another; the kind of work users never see, but rely on completely.

“I love the unexpected. If someone says, ‘We’ve found a bug and need to fix it urgently,’ that’s my idea of fun.”

Despite the stereotype of developers being opaque or insular, he’s deeply collaborative. He enjoys talking to people, working through problems together, and learning from fellow developers, many of whom, he notes, originally wanted to pursue art or music.

Why tlmNexus?

A long-standing interest in aviation and a desire to support the Armed Forces drew him to tlmNexus. Working with Defence customers felt meaningful.

“There was a time I looked at big tech companies and thought they were the coolest places to be. Now I’m much more drawn to smaller companies doing important work — and staying based in Brighton mattered to me.”

Working on Defence and regulated systems brings a different rhythm. The pace is shaped by customer needs, policy requirements and risk management. Quality always comes first.

“At tlmNexus, if something isn’t right, you’re encouraged to say so. There are no shortcuts. Quality matters more than speed; things need to be right even if it takes longer.”

That philosophy was central to one of his proudest achievements: helping build Advanced Search from scratch. Starting with a small team and a blank slate, they had the freedom to design how it should behave, which is a rare opportunity. More recently, he’s been deeply involved in NexusHub, an ambitious project designed to bring together information from multiple systems into a single, intuitive dashboard.

“The goal is to give users a clear, glanceable view of what matter such as assignments, notifications and priorities. The technical challenges are significant, and so we’re always asking: is this genuinely worth it for the customer?”

Curiosity, creativity and balance

Outside work, his creativity finds other outlets. He plays guitar, once played violin and clarinet, and still loves reading. DIY projects offer a different kind of satisfaction. Currently, he’s converting part of his garage into a wood-burning garden room. “It’ll be a child-free sanctuary,” he says, smiling.

He also enjoys vintage computer game; not modern gaming, but the older, simpler kind. And one surprising fact?

“I played Glastonbury in 2005, on the Left Field stage. Babyshambles, famously led by Pete Doherty, followed us.”

Looking Ahead

Chaz’s relationship with technology is thoughtful rather than unquestioning.

“I like what technology can do for good, but I also value a simpler, more analogue life. I don’t want tech everywhere; I want it to help us discover new things.”

What excites him most is where technology can genuinely augment human progress: space exploration, healthcare, sustainable energy.

As he puts it, “Not AI for the sake of it, but AI that helps us solve real problems.”

Curiosity is what drives him. He enthusiastically asserts that he likes being slightly uncomfortable, constantly learning, and tackling problems that feel just out of reach.

“If it ever becomes too easy,” he says, “I’d get bored.”

Fortunately for tlmNexus and its customers, boredom seems highly unlikely.

Turning maintenance data into operational insight with tlmNexus DaRT

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 12:06:32 GMT

tlmNexus’ DaRT is designed to address an important gap in repair processes by converting fragmented information into structured, analysable intelligence.

Within UK military platforms, large volumes of defect and repair data are captured every day, and is often distributed across local repair logs and standalone records, limiting its value beyond immediate maintenance activity.

For organisations responsible for air, road and seaworthiness, fleet performance and long-term decisions, the challenge is not data availability but data exploitation.

tlmNexus’ DaRT is designed to address this gap by converting fragmented repair information into structured, analysable intelligence.

Addressing a systemic visibility issue

Repair records are usually created in order to close individual tasks rather than to support wider analysis. As a result, recurring faults, emerging trends and systemic weaknesses will remain obscured until they manifest as availability or safety concerns.

DaRT aggregates defect and repairdata across platforms, units and time periods, so that a consistent dataset can be interrogated to inform engineering and support decisions.

This enables teams to identify recurring issues early, and to improve their understanding of failure drivers. This gives them more robust evidence with which to take corrective action.

Capability aligned to defence engineering environments

DaRT is a secure, web-based SaaS developed specifically for regulated, safety-critical aviation environments and capable of adaptation for land and sea. It is designed to support traceability, auditability, and data integrity requirements associated with military airworthiness and continuing airworthiness management.

Key outcomes include:

improved visibility of repair trends and fault recurrence.
strengthened evidence for engineering change and support decisions.
enhanced feedback between maintenance, design, and support organisations.
more effective use of existing maintenance data.

DaRT supports a shift from reactive review of repair activity to proactive analysis of fleet-level behaviour.

Part of a proven tlmNexus ecosystem

DaRT is developed by tlmNexus, whose Resolve SaaS platform is already in use across more than 34 MOD aircraft platforms. This shared heritage ensures alignment with established defence engineering workflows and operational constraints.

For organisations already using tlmNexus software, DaRT represents an extension of existing digital capability rather than a standalone analytics tool.

Streamlined access via NexusHub

To support adoption and reduce integration overhead, DaRT will be available, along with other mission-critical tlmNexus applications, through the new NexusHub portal, scheduled for release in early 2026.

NexusHub will provide a consolidated access point for tlmNexus SaaS tools, simplifying deployment and enabling organisations to adopt DaRT alongside existing tools with minimal disruption.

Supporting earlier and better decisions

DaRT enables stakeholders to move beyond isolated repair records towards a consolidated, evidence-based view of maintenance performance.

By improving the visibility of recurring issues and repair trends, DaRT supports more timely, informed decisions that contribute to fleet availability, safety, and long-term supportability.

In environments where operational readiness and assurance are critical, turning maintenance data into usable intelligence is no longer optional. DaRT provides the capability to do so, using data that organisations already hold.

Please contact dkilbride@tlmnexus.com for a demonstration or further information.

Season's Greetings

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 15:18:38 GMT

As 2025 draws to a close, we thank our customers, partners, and colleagues across our local and Defence communities for their continued trust, collaboration and support.

This has been a buoyant year for tlmNexus, thanks to strong partnerships, meaningful progress and mutual success. We are proud to support critical platforms and operations, and we remain committed to delivering secure, reliable and forward-thinking solutions that make a real difference.

Looking ahead to 2026, we are enthusiastic about what lies ahead. We will be operating under our newly attained Defence Cyber Certification, reinforcing our commitment to cyber resilience and trusted delivery. We will continue to develop AI-enabled applications to enhance our services and provide even greater insight, efficiency and value for our customers.

We will reveal more about NexusHub, a valuable development designed to strengthen collaboration, visibility and performance across complex environments.

From all at tlmNexus, we wish you a peaceful Christmas and a successful, healthy and prosperous New Year.

tlmNexus attains Defence Cyber Certification Level 0

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 15:14:27 GMT

tlmNexus has achieved Defence Cyber Certification (DCC) at Level 0, ensuring compliance with defence sector requirements and therefore many of our customers, and reaffirming our commitment to maintaining strong, compliant, and resilient cyber security standards across our organisation.

The Defence Cyber Certification Scheme is a newly introduced framework developed by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) and IASME (Information Assurance for Small and Medium Enterprises) to strengthen cyber resilience across the defence sector supply chain. The certification provides a single organisation-level assurance that demonstrates cyber security and alignment with current MOD requirements.

Achieving DCC Level 0 confirms that tlmNexus meets the criteria required to operate securely within the evolving defence cyber landscape, and reflects our ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and to supporting the security, trust and confidence of our customers, partners and defence stakeholders. It can be presented in support of UK Defence Procurements subject to an annual check-in and re-certification every three years.

Our Head of Information Technology James Page thanks those of our colleagues who helped him to achieve the certification in a short timeframe.

To learn more about the scheme, please visit the official site: Defence Cyber Certification - Defence Cyber Certification

DaRT: Giving the MOD total visibility of Damage & Repair across fleets

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 16:27:30 GMT

Maintaining Defence equipment at peak readiness is critical, and historically damage reporting and repair visibility across platforms has been fragmented, manual, and inconsistent. Information is often buried in spreadsheets, siloed systems, legacy databases, or paper trails, making it difficult to monitor patterns of damage, prioritise repairs and ensure resources are directed where they are needed most.

DaRT (Damage and Repair Tracker) has solved this

Originally developed to support the evolving needs of the Typhoon team, DaRT provides a centralised digital environment where users can record, track and manage fleet-wide damage and repair activity in real time.

A single source of truth

DaRT connects operational teams, maintainers, engineers, project stakeholders and decision makers, ensuring everyone works from the same accurate and up-to-date information. This eliminates duplicated reporting, missed handovers, and data gaps, all of which are common issues when multiple units and service providers are involved.

Improved readiness through live insight

With instant access to status updates, repair progress, timelines and dependencies, DaRT enables operational teams to:

Identify recurring damage patterns
Improve asset reliability and resilience
Prioritise workloads and resources
Support ageing fleets and platforms
Reduce time out of service

This improved visibility means faster informed decisions and better use of budget, time and capability.

Designed for Defence, built for collaboration

DaRT synchronises with live operations and Defence working practices, from frontline reporting to engineering approvals, allowing teams to collaborate much more easily across sites, units, and services.

It also fully aligns with wider digital transformation principles across Defence, and our ongoing development programme which runs in close collaboration with our customers ensures long-term compatibility and scalability as platforms evolve.

A better way forward

DaRT is already delivering measurable benefits across some fleets, supporting improved decision-making and enabling teams to manage damage and repairs with greater confidence and transparency.

As Defence continues its shift towards digital-first fleet management, DaRT provides the foundation: reliable data, shared understanding, and complete visibility required for increasing operational readiness.

For further information contact Dave Kilbride dkilbride@tlmnexus.com

With thanks to Crown Copyright for the use of their photograph

Finding better ways of working

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 12:49:41 GMT

Sophie Parkinson, Senior Customer Account Manager at tlmNexus, brings a strong sense of purpose to her role, which she explains is all about ensuring Defence users have the tools, evidence and support they need to work safely and effectively.

Sophie manages the company’s DESAIMS contract, coordinating more than 30 delivery teams, overseeing renewals and commercial negotiations, and working closely with DES Digital and the Head of Engineering Assurance. It also involves managing the internal stakeholder, working with the team of customer integration engineers who work with the users, to ensure that collectively tlmNexus is delivering a good service and keeping the customer happy.

It is a role that demands precision, diplomacy, and an instinct for bringing the right people together at the right time.

From geography graduate to Defence digital specialist

Her journey into software was, she asserts, ‘completely accidental’. After graduating with a geography degree, it was the mapping-focus that attracted her to her first employer, a company whose client base stretched across Defence, local government and central government.

“I never set out to work in software,” she explains, “but as time went on, the geography faded away, and the software stayed.”

At that first company, she worked her way up quickly from telemarketing executive (“calling people who didn’t want to talk to me”) through sales executive, to business development. Events, customer meetings, and large-scale opportunity management soon became her everyday world.

Attracted by the strong footprint in Air Defence and a drive towards new products and markets, a move to tlmNexus followed, initially in BD, where she supported the growth and diversification of the company before taking on the DESAIMS contract as it expanded.

What keeps Sophie motivated

“It is such a different field from anything I would have imagined. The platforms we interact with are fascinating. They include planes, helicopters, and UAS’s (Uncrewed Aerial Systems) and encompass the whole engineering ecosystem. When you are working in a safety-related domain, where people rely on the data and tools we provide, it seems to matter much more than selling some other software.”

Delivering solutions in a complex environment

The MOD contracting landscape is constantly shifting and Sophie is candid about the challenges.

“The ways of contracting are always changing. Even with G-Cloud making things easier, setting up new contracts still involves navigating different portals and inconsistent processes. It’s not the simplest sector to work in, particularly for an SME, (Small-to-Medium Enterprise), but we’re fortunate to have focused, committed customers.”

And those customers often arrive with familiar pain points including disparate data, and no single source of truth.

“They do not have time to hunt for information. They want trusted evidence, they want security, and they want everything in one place. That is exactly what we deliver.”

Security is a thread that runs throughout. “There is always a lot of change such as secure-by-design expectations, compliance reviews and sensitive data requirements. That is the job. We have to get it right, and we do.”

Where digital capability creates real impact

Having worked in more than one area of the Defence digital ecosystem, she has seen the difference cutting edge tools make.

“We replace unreliable spreadsheets and disconnected systems with something people can trust. Visualisation tools in DaRT (Damage and Repair Tracker), for example, give a coherent picture of damage and repair data. Teams spend less time searching and more time making decisions. And Resolve (tlmNexus’ well-known collaborative issue management system) contains a world of data that is only just beginning to be fully utilised.”

When digital capability ‘lands’, she says, the shift is visible. “You see the relief, the confidence. Suddenly people have the evidence they need at their fingertips. It changes the tone of the whole working group.”

Leadership, change and building confidence

In an environment defined by regulation, scrutiny and safety, leadership behaviours make a huge difference.

“The people who lead well are the ones actively looking for better ways of working. They want decisions to be auditable. They want the justification to be clear. They are rightly strict about data management because they understand the consequences.”

Her own approach centres on responsiveness and reliability.
“We respond quickly. Our support desk and our customer integration engineers do not keep people waiting. We’re an SME and this means we are dynamic, so we turn things around fast. That builds trust.”

Looking to the future

There is no hesitation when asked what will shape the next few years.
“It has to be AI. It is everywhere. Every sector, every conversation, every tool. The challenge, especially for Defence, is how to do it securely and responsibly. If we can apply AI to trusted datasets in the right way, it will be transformative. If we don’t, we will be left behind.”

Security will remain critical, she emphasises, but the human element matters too.

“With AI becoming so normalised, people risk losing critical thinking. The next generation will succeed if they keep questioning, keep interrogating evidence, and do not just accept what a tool tells them.”

A career rooted in people, purpose and… cool aircraft

For all the technical complexity of her role, what she enjoys most is simple: people.

“Anything customer-facing brings me job satisfaction. I love being out on bases, and meeting users. You realise how diverse the teams are and how passionate they are about what they do. It is easy to stay stuck behind a screen, but when you get out there, you remember why the work matters.”

The aircraft still hold their appeal. “They let me sit in cool planes. That definitely helps!”

Sophie is equally grounded outside work, taking long dog walks along the South Downs, enjoying gym sessions, parkrun and paddle boarding in summer. In winter, she loves nothing better than a good veggie roast (or “a trio of starters and a side of chips”) at the pub.

Her favourite unexpected fact?

“My cousin married Matt Damon’s brother-in-law… and I had a photo with Matt Damon at the wedding.”

A story that would land well in any meeting.

From part -time developer to Chief Product Officer

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 14:53:18 GMT

When asked to describe his role in one sentence, Kash Addepally, Chief Product Officer at tlmNexus says, “I make sure our products stay relevant, competitive, and capable of being used in new markets to support tlmNexus’ growth.”

It is a role that combines foresight with pragmatism. “Products can easily lose their edge,” Kash explains. “My job is to help expand functionality to enrich the value we deliver to our existing customers, as well as capturing new markets. That means steering my team with a clear sense of what our customers need, where the market is going, and how our technology can best serve organisations today and in the future.”

A career shaped by tlmNexus

Kash’s career at tlmNexus began in 2006, after completing a Batchelor of Engineering degree, working as a developer in India and completing a Masters in Intelligence Systems. “I joined as a part time developer,” he recalls, “and it’s a funny story as to how I heard about the role. A member of my cohort during the Masters programme was complaining that he had been unsuccessful at a job interview. Despite his negativity, the job sounded interesting, so I asked him if he’d mind giving me the details. It took me a week of persisting, and finally he gave me an email address and I sent off my CV to tlmNexus. Even though it was the first interview I had ever attended in the UK, happily for me, I was successful.

“At around the same time as this, I was working part time in a very busy retail store to earn enough to support my studies, and out of the thousands of customers I served, one in particular asked me if I could pack his goods up for him. As I willingly did so, he discovered I was a software engineer studying for my Masters. I asked him what he did; he explained he was an entrepreneur. He gave me his business card and told me to get in touch. By the strangest coincidence, his company was situated opposite tlmNexus in Brighton.

“As a student, I was permitted to work for 20 hours a week, and found myself working part time for both organisations. I carried on working like this after my studies and was able to clear my student loan within a year. It was a fascinating journey because I was using different technologies across the two organisations and picked up a lot of experience. After some time, tlmNexus offered me a full-time role, and allowed me to continue working for the other company in the evenings. For two years, I would work nine-to-five in one job, then do a 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. shift across the street. It was mad but it accelerated my knowledge and experience way beyond the average person at my stage of career. As I was the only developer at the time, I was also speaking to the users, capturing what they wanted to achieve and it laid the foundations for me to move into different roles as my career with tlmNexus progressed. As the company grew, the management encouraged me to step up, to learn new skills, and to take on new opportunities.”

That growth wasn’t just about writing code. The company was moving towards SaaS, (Software as a Service) and Kash recognised the importance of service management. This meant understanding not just what software does, but how it delivers long-term value to customers. Supported by management, he gained ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) certification and developed a new perspective: “I began thinking about sustainability, supportability, and customer value as much as functionality. That shift was transformative.”

Kash’s foundation was built on adaptability. “I was always moving between roles, solving different problems. That experience taught me how to approach challenges flexibly – something that’s stayed with me ever since.”

Influences and team culture

Kash credits his success to the culture at tlmNexus: “The leadership team gave me freedom to voice my opinions, disagree, and suggest better ways of doing things. That gave me confidence, and every discussion became an opportunity to learn.”

He singles out Andy Stevenson, co-founder, as a key influence: “Andy can turn his hand to so many things. That adaptability inspired me – you never think ‘this isn’t my job.’ You do what it takes to deliver, and that culture has shaped our whole team.”

Today, Kash is most proud of the team’s resilience and respect: “We face challenges together, share knowledge openly, and always listen to each other. It’s an environment built on trust and mutual respect.”

Balancing today and tomorrow

As CPO, Kash walks a fine line between responding to immediate customer needs and ensuring long-term product strategy. “For a long time, we focused too heavily on operational urgency – reacting to specific requests. That’s important, but not if it comes at the expense of strategic evolution. The real challenge is to balance both: keeping services true to their perceived value while capturing imaginations with new ideas.”

Customer input remains central: “Everyone has an opinion – users, customer-facing staff, market watchers. My role is to channel those voices, distil the insights, and decide what problem we’re solving and why. That way, we have a compelling case for where to focus next.”

Looking ahead

Right now, Kash is excited about steering new products such as Eco-Hub , the working title of an initiative which will act as an integration platform, pulling together tlmNexus products and customers’ existing systems to provide a single, powerful view. “It’s about giving customers clarity and control in one place – and that’s very influential.”

New technologies, especially AI, are firmly on his radar: “AI is about multiplying the value of our products. We’re currently exploring use cases that will benefit our customers and keep us aligned with the latest technology trends.”

What motivates Kash?

For Kash, the motivation is deeply personal: “I come from a family where having a good career means respect. I’m blessed to be doing work that uses my education and contributes to society. I genuinely love what I do – even chatting in a coffee shop, I find myself thinking and talking about value and growth.”

Outside of work, family time is everything: running around the house playing with his three children, or catching up with friends when time allows.

Interesting facts about Kash

Most excited about? “Launching new products into the portfolio and seeing Eco-Hub gain traction.”
Daily ritual? “As soon as I’ve brushed my teeth, I catch up with world news over a coffee.”
Personal interests? “Thrillers and wartime films, programmes about science, space tech, astronomy and astrology, politics and finance – I do my own trading in the markets.”
If you could develop any app? One that combined fitness and health tracking with predictions about what will happen if you don’t change your lifestyle, to motivate people to improve their habits.

A word about leadership

Kash says, “Supported by tlmNexus, I recently did a one-year course in leadership for CTO’s (Chief Technical Officers), and did an exercise where we drew a graph about the highs and lows in our careers. Mine was one of the only ones that had a pretty smooth upward trajectory. We discussed why people have ups and downs and it’s because if you are not under the right leadership, however skilled you are, you will have a bumpier ride. I feel blessed to have been well-mentored under very positive leaders.”

Nearly two decades on, Kash’s journey with tlmNexus is still one of growth – for himself, his team, and the company. His story is a reminder of how the right culture, opportunities, and mindset can turn a developer into a Chief Product Officer shaping the future of defence support solutions.

Compliance monitoring and reporting should generate confidence, not paperwork

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 09:31:57 GMT

In our world of the defence industry, compliance metrics and producing robust reports are critical, but anyone who has been close to the process knows how challenging it can be.

Tracking metrics and compiling reports often means sifting through multiple systems and spreadsheets, reconciling conflicting data and spending valuable time pulling everything together for audits or reviews.

Compliance teams usually find reporting one of the most time-consuming aspects of their role and there is clearly a case for digitisation.

Among the advantages are:

· The immediacy of having instant snapshots of compliance status across the organisation.

· The improved data integrity that comes from automated capture, where there is a lower risk of transcription errors and missing information.

· The confidence of always being audit-ready with structured and searchable digital records.

There are always two sides to an argument, and among the downsides of digitising compliance are

The potential confusion that comes with more digital metrics, more dashboards and a loss of prioritisation.
The ever-present danger of human error, with digital tools being only as good as the systems they connected with. Gaps will still leave teams chasing information.
An over-reliance on the automation, which can create the illusion of complete coverage, while blind spots remain unnoticed.

How to Make It Work

At tlmNexus, our Digital Evidence Building (DEB) tool was developed with the focus of making monitoring and reporting more effective, rather than just making it digital.

DEB helps teams:

Capture the right evidence once and use it many times.
Build reports that are clear, accurate, and audit ready.
Focus less on chasing paperwork, and more on ensuring standards are genuinely adhered to.

The goal is to give compliance teams clarity, confidence, and time back.

For further information and a demonstration of Digital Evidence Builder contact DKilbride@tlmnexus.com

Our photograph is supplied courtesy of Crown Copyright

e-Library Version 2 with major usability and publishing enhancements

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 12:01:18 GMT

tlmNexus is pleased to announce the release of e‑Library Version 2, the next generation of our secure digital document management and publishing platform optimised for defence and highly regulated environments.

This new version introduces substantial enhancements, delivering greater flexibility, usability and control for military, technical and support organisations.

What is e‑Library?

e‑Library is a secure, web‑enabled solution designed to allow users to publish, version manage and distribute fully traceable documents and data across defence networks. The tool supports compliance with MOD network standards and enables rapid publication of approved content, reducing the time from hours or days, to just minutes.

It is used to support multiple viewer groups such as airworthiness authorities, maintenance organisations and partner agencies with controlled access to the latest authoritative data.

What’s new in v2?

Version 2 introduces several key improvements designed to simplify workflows, improve flexibility, and enhance user control:

Multi-platform support - e‑Library is now configurable to support multiple domains or organisations in a single deployment, with data logically separated by Delivery Team (DT).
Streamlined interface - A simplified single list view of all publications improves navigation and user experience.
Improved permissions management - Access controls are now easier to configure and administer across user groups.
Configurable publishing forms - Users can now publish directly from a record using customisable forms within the system.
Manual control of versioning and cancellations - Publication updates, up-versioning, and cancellations can now be triggered directly from the integrated publishing module (e.g. Resolve, Derive).

These enhancements deliver faster publishing cycles, better usability, and greater operational flexibility, whilst maintaining the traceability, security, and control that e‑Library is known for.

e‑Library Version 2 is available now. To learn more or request a demonstration, visit www.tlmnexus.com/e-library or contact Sophie Parkinson directly at SParkinson@tlmnexus.com

Compliance costs are rising – can you reduce them through Digital Evidence Building?

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 10:02:49 GMT

In the defence industry, compliance is obviously a non-negotiable requirement, but as anyone working in the domain knows, its costs keep rising. How can we reduce the burden without reducing the standard?

In the defence industry, compliance is obviously a non-negotiable requirement, but as anyone working in the domain knows, its costs keep rising. There is the financial cost; dedicated compliance staff, ongoing training and audits all require budget. There are also time and opportunity costs. Teams often spend significant hours managing paperwork, chasing evidence, and updating records as well as attending meetings and audits. The energy spent on compliance can and will pull focus away from innovation and operations.

While the price of non-compliance is much higher – reduced safety, reputational risk and contract losses – organisations are increasingly asking: how can we reduce the burden without reducing the standard?

Digitisation: A Double-Edged Sword

Digitising compliance requirements has clear advantages:

Efficiency : Automated processes reduce manual admin and errors.
Transparency : Digital records improve visibility for audits and reporting.
Consistency : Centralised systems ensure the right data is captured in the right way, and every time.

Yet digitisation comes with its own challenges:

Implementation costs : Transitioning from legacy systems or manual processes can require significant investment.
Complexity : Not all compliance requirements lend themselves easily to digital capture and evidence building.
Human factors : Change management is often underestimated; staff need time and support to adopt new tools.

Digital Evidence Builder (DEB) – A Practical Step Forward

At tlmNexus, many of our team are ex Forces and we have seen first-hand how compliance processes can weigh on organisations. That is why we developed our Digital Evidence Builder (DEB) tool, a clean and uncomplicated software-as-a-service programme.

DEB is designed to ease the burden by:

Providing a single, secure, digital source of truth.
Streamlining the capture of compliance evidence.
Reducing manual effort and freeing up valuable time for higher-value tasks.

It is not about digitisation for its own sake. As an SME, we have the agility to work closely with users to create tools that focus tightly on addressing real pain points and deliver measurable value.

The cost of compliance will never disappear, but by embracing thoughtful, well-designed digital tools, defence organisations can shift the balance, reducing the burden while strengthening assurance.

The question for every organisation is: how can you make compliance not just a cost of doing business, but an enabler of better business?

For further information and a demonstration of Digital Evidence Builder contact DKilbride@tlmnexus.com

Our photograph is supplied courtesy of Crown Copyright

Meet Craig Vint - from RAF engineer to customer-focused innovator

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 17:48:22 GMT

The first in a series of insights into tlmNexus team members

When Craig joined tlmNexus in 2021, he brought with him 12 years of hands-on experience from the RAF, having joined straight from school and worked his way up to become a company approved B1 licensed aircraft engineer on the A400M.

“I was expecting to end up at Amazon,” he laughs. “I was doing all the prep, taking courses on programmable logic controllers, getting ready for the jump.”

But fate — and LinkedIn — had other ideas. The tlmNexus HR team had connected with Craig a couple of years earlier, when he quietly signalled “open to work” during the Afghan evacuation, Operation Pitting. “At the time, working in software delivery and consultancy wasn’t even on my radar. It felt like something senior ranks moved into — not mechanical engineers like me. But I’m glad I kept the door open.”

What attracted Craig to tlmNexus was the rare chance to stay connected to the Forces while transitioning into the world of defence software. “It was a way to continue to use my engineering knowledge and be part of something meaningful — just in a different capacity.”

He joined as an Integration Engineer, working closely with MOD customers to ensure tlmNexus solutions were being used effectively, particularly during major platform upgrades. “It was a great role for learning how our users interact with the tools and what they need from them. It helped me to understand how to bridge the gap between technical capability and operational application.”

Craig has since progressed into the role of Senior Customer Account Manager, after a period during which he led the Customer Integration Engineer team. He now manages the key Typhoon account, and is using his strong business development skills and deep operational insight to explore growth opportunities in the Air and Land domain.

“We’re solving real problems that matter”

For Craig, working at tlmNexus is about more than software. “You get to lean on your experience to help people manage risk, improve processes, and actually see the benefit to the end user. That’s really satisfying.”

The remote-first culture has also been a bonus. “There’s a relaxed, professional atmosphere, regular socials, and a shared focus on solving the right problems for the customer.”

At DI25 a recent industry event organised by Team Defence Information, Craig was struck by a phrase from one of the speakers, Caroline Bellamy, a Director in the Defence Digital NAD group. Caroline referred to the “System of systems” — the idea that solutions need to be exploitable by design, and that trust and collaboration across industry partners is no longer optional, but essential.

“It stuck with me because it’s the way we need to be thinking,” asserts Craig. “In the end, it’s about doing what’s right for the MOD. That’s the reason we’re all here.”

Craig and his wife married in 2023 and are expecting their first baby in November 2025 They both play tennis together regularly for their local club doubles leagues in Nottinghamshire. Craig also enjoys golf, F1, skiing, diving and running. He has completed two full marathons, and quite a few half-marathons and 10k’s.

Defence Airworthiness Issue Management contract extended

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 13:53:58 GMT

Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) has enacted the option to extend the extant contract for its Airworthiness Issue Management service with tlmNexus by 12 months to 31 March 2026 along with tasking to onboard additional air systems to the cloud software service that we provide via the Crown Commercial Service’s G-Cloud Framework.

The service will continue to support more than 30 UK MOD air system fleets into 2026 and welcomes TIQUILA and Chinook 47ER to the service delivery.

The TIQUILA Project will introduce two initial MUAS types (Mini Uncrewed Air Systems), Stalker (portable) and Indago (packable) systems.

In addition to TIQUILA, tlmNexus will onboard 14 new Chinook H-47(ER) heavy lift helicopters.

These new air systems will take the number of fleets to 33 that benefit from the capability of the company’s award-winning Resolve software service provided under the existing DES AIMS contract. Resolve enables the MoD’s delivery teams to highlight and manage airworthiness-related issues through their life cycle from front-line to factory in a way that is compliant with the UK Military Aviation Authority’s engineering regulations.

Andy Davis, Deputy Head of DE&S Airworthiness Team (DAT) commented:

"I am really pleased that DE&S has secured the extension of services provided by tlmNexus. This demonstrates a collective commitment to proving an effective and coherent system for managing crucial air safety information across a large parts of the UK’s aviation inventory; In turn this ensures the highest levels of air system availability and operational success can be achieved by our front-line partners."

tlmNexus provides innovative through-life acquisition and support management software services for the Defence sector. See here for more information on the evergreen software products and services in our portfolio which provide the foundation for effective exploitation of through-life asset data leading to improved availability, faster fielding and lower cost of ownership.

Our thanks to the Crown Copyright service for the use of the photograph accompanying this article.

Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikes

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 16:43:27 GMT

An insight into Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikes Service (L.E.B.B.S) by volunteer Matt Hopkins, Senior Customer Integration Engineer at tlmNexus.

The Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikes Service (LEBBS) formed in 2012, and we now transport blood, platelets, samples, human donor milk, baby ‘Blood Spot’ (screening) tests and other clinical products. We operate between NHS hospitals/sites across Lincolnshire and beyond, also providing a daily ‘blood on board’ service to the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance. Altogether, we serve over 1.1 million potential NHS Service Users in the 2nd largest county in England.

The first Blood Bike groups emerged in 1960s, and there are now over 40 groups across the UK under the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (to lobby government and set standards etc.). The UK Government recognised Blood Bikes as a Front-Line Emergency Service in 2015 (with yellow and orange vehicle livery). All riders have passed an Advanced Motorcycle Test – however, while our vehicles are liveried, we don’t have ‘blue lights’ and we adhere to all the same traffic laws as everyone else.

The operational side of LEBBS comprises controllers and riders. The controllers take calls from hospitals and co-ordinate collection & delivery with the riders on shift at the time. Supporting this are vehicle fleet managers, an NHS liaison team, and a fundraising arm (we are a charity and rely 100% on public donations). Our charitable status also requires a formal constitution with a committee to ensure all is efficient and above board. We are all unpaid volunteers, and we are so grateful to tlmNexus for supporting us over 2024 – our running costs are pretty high, and you wouldn’t believe the difference it makes.

Controllers and riders volunteer around their work and family commitments. I commit to one weekend (comprising 2 x 12 hr shifts) per month. My prep starts during the preceding week (picking up the bike, checking it over and booking it in etc.). I’m up early on Saturday for the 0700 shift start, ready to respond to a call. A typical hospital-to-hospital run will inevitably develop into other jobs thereafter, or I’ll get diverted somewhere else while in transit. We often deploy beyond Lincolnshire (the NHS Blood Centre at Barnsley and Nottingham City Hospital are regulars). We are also often involved with cross-country relays with other blood bike groups. The idea is to be back home by 1900, but reality means I’m often back later. I have to manage rest, hydration and food on an opportunity basis in order to keep myself safe and alert. Once home, I re-fettle the bike, comms and my own kit ready for 0700 the next day. After my shifts are done, I then need to get the bike on to the next allocated rider.

Most calls are routine, but we regularly get urgent calls. We don’t get the full background to ensure we remain calm and focussed. However, a recent talk by the Lincoln Pathology (Blood) Lab did expand on typical genuine scenarios - from patients haemorrhaging on operating tables to blood samples requiring urgent diagnosis for A&E. This highlights further why we are so grateful for the support you’ve given us. A couple of stats for the last full LEBBS year (2023) are below.

127,433 miles covered.

2,080 hospital collections/deliveries (514 urgent)

Thank you again tlmNexus!!!!

From all at LEBBS

tlmNexus awarded new Framework Agreement for G-Cloud 14

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 15:21:44 GMT

G-Cloud is a Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Digital Marketplace framework that public sector buyers use to procure services based on the latest cloud technology and innovation. The framework provides access to multiple suppliers and cloud services including cloud hosting, cloud software and associated support. During the first ten years since its launch in February 2012, over £11 billion has been spent through the framework with annual spend now exceeding £200 million according to CCS.

CCS has recently completed its assessment of bids from all existing and new suppliers to provide services on the latest iteration of the G-Cloud framework, G-Cloud 14, which goes live in early November. tlmNexus has supplied cloud software and cloud support services through the G-Cloud since 2013 and are fortunate to have been able to use the channel to supply our services directly to Government as a SME. Our ongoing participation in the framework supports our ability to respond and adapt at pace to changes in our customers' business processes. We work from a standpoint of putting ourselves in our customers' shoes, continuously seeking to upgrade our existing products and develop new digital solutions, supporting not only the UK Government's "Cloud First" policy but the UK MOD's Digital Strategy for Defence "to facilitate faster, better decisions and improved Defence outcomes".

There were over 5000 suppliers offering in excess of 40,000 cloud services on G-Cloud 13 so setting up G-Cloud 14 was a huge undertaking and we are immensely grateful for all the work done by CCS to keep the framework operating and, in particular, for judging our own submission as compliant, awarding us a place on the G-Cloud framework and enabling us to continue to deliver our innovative digital solutions.

tlmNexus sponsors inaugural CAFTAS

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 12:01:46 GMT

tlmNexus had the honour of being one of the prime sponsors of the inaugural Coningsby Awards for Teamwork, Achievement & Service (C.A.F.T.A.S.)

Held at RAF Coningsby, the Gala Awards Dinner, which celebrated the contribution of the exceptional RAF personnel and the value placed on the Whole Force Community, was hosted by Station Commander, Group Captain Paul O'Grady.

There were twelve awards in total, with tlmNexus' Head of Customer Support, Russ Thompson, presenting the award for Collaborative Working. Attended by 8 of the tlmNexus team, as well as our two esteemed guests, Stuart Wood and Stevie Dryburgh, it was a fantastic event enhanced by clear sightings of the aurora borealis. We send our thanks to the event organisers and co-sponsors and our congratulations to all the nominees and winners.

Pictured L-R Stuart Wood, Paul Higgins, Lee Storer, Russ Thompson, Andrew Peacock, Sophie Parkinson, Kash Addepally, Stevie Dryburgh, Craig Vint.

Photo courtesy of Neil Harding.

tlmNexus nominated for Advanced Air Mobility Innovation Award

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 14:32:08 GMT

We are proud to announce we are finalists in the Advanced Air Mobility Expo Awards 2024

The Advanced Air Mobility Expo held at ExCeL London on 24th and 25th September has kindly nominated tlmNexus for their Innovation Awards 2024. As part of the Helitech Expo, these awards "recognise those that are breaking boundaries across the different sectors of rotorcraft technology. With the award that is up for grabs at this year’s event, nominees are those whose product, service, or strategy are having a massive impact and influence on the success of the growing market."

Our Commercial Director, Tony Harris will give a short presentation, followed by a Q&A with the judging panel. Congratulations to our fellow nominees: Inteliports, Jetoptera Inc., and Semmco Limited.

British 24hr Endurance Race

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 14:31:14 GMT

RAF Waddington Vulcans Karting Team take part in the British 24hr Endurance Challenge at Teesside

6 R.A.F. drivers from the Vulcans karting team headed up to Teesside with kart 50 for their first British 24hr Endurance race on Saturday 10th August. Each driver spent 4 hours in total driving in 1hr and 1.30hr stints. Up against some of the best drivers in the country as well as from Europe, the race was tough but the team made it through to the end, despite a swiftly resolved mechanical issue at midnight. With 1070 laps under their belt, the team finished 20th out of 89!

Armed Forces Karting Championship (A.F.K.C.) Round 5

Race Report from Cpl Thomas Haywood

"Pro Kart Endurance

Round 5 of the Armed Forces Karting Championship (AFKC) saw the team traveling down to the South Wales Karting Centre, Llandow. With the track being a regular fixture on the AFKC calendar in recent years, it was a familiar circuit for many of the team.

Friday practice was full of important setup changes, aiming to cut out oversteer and the rear tyres sliding around. The rear track width and caster angle was changed which helped somewhat, but the biggest gain in grip came from setting abnormally low tyre pressures.

Race 1 saw kart 50 qualify in 12th, meaning a tricky start into the first corner and the following chicane, which is just a short run from the line. Whilst one place was lost keeping out of trouble, this was regained shortly afterwards before settling into the rhythm of the race. As the race went on and the tyres built temperature in the sunny conditions, some time was being lost, most likely due to tyre pressures being too high. With no chance to change this, drivers Cpl Tom Haywood and AS1(T) Tom Lucas pushed on to finish 9th, and 5th Military.

A slightly better qualifying session for Race 2 placed kart 50 in 10th, with a consistent start holding onto the position. Improved setup and slick pit stops gave good race pace, crossing the line 7th overall and 4th Military. However, the 3rd placed Military kart was penalised for being 2kg underweight at the end of the race, promoting kart 50 to 6th overall and a podium place for 3rd Military.

Kart 51

Friday practice was a solid and productive day for kart 51 pairing John Blondel and Pte Bailey Vernon-Higgs. The day was spent getting up to speed with the track and refining the set up to make sure the kart was ready for Saturday race day. Both drivers believed that they had a good kart for Saturday.

In qualifying for race 1, kart 51 qualified 20th overall and 7th in class. The 2-hour race started well, battling hard to gain a handful of positions to put the kart in a good place for the second half of the race. During the second half of the race, Bailey battled back after losing a few positions whilst avoiding a spun kart. By the end of the race, Kart 51 finished 15th overall and 5th in class. It was a solid race for the pair with Bailey catching the karts ahead at the end of the race, ultimately running out of time with the remaining laps limited.

It was a similar story in qualifying for race 2 as kart 51 was 20th overall and 6th in class. This time Bailey started the race, fighting hard with the karts around him moving back and forth through the first half of his stint. During the second half of the race, John moved swiftly, gaining places to put the kart in a good position come the end of the race. In the closing stages, he was chasing down the kart that was in 3rd place in class, with the gap down to 3 seconds. Unfortunately, the race came to a close with the kart agonisingly close to what would have been a deserved podium in class, with the kart finishing 17th overall and 4th in class. However, a post-race penalty to the winning class kart meant that kart 51 was moved up to 16th overall and 3rd in class, a great result to secure a podium and to end a great weekend of racing.

Kart 52

Kart 52’s journey start a few weeks back while in preparation stages for round 5, on the strip down of the chassis for cleaning and inspections, a large crack in the chassis was found on the left main rear support. Any crack in a chassis is bad but the location and size of this crack meant the chassis had to go back to the manufacturer for repair.

With no choice but to use an older chassis in its place, it was all hands-on deck.

Friday practice day came, with Sgt Matt Daniel completing set up and testing before his teammate Cpl Will Wright could join later that day.

After completing a final nut and bolt check, Will and Matt were ready for Race 1. Following qualifying 15th, Matt started the race and put in a strong start and maintaining a consistent lap time. After a quick pit stop and fuel taken on board, it was now Will’s first time out in the kart this weekend. Within a few laps, Will was putting in a competitive time and held position. Within the last few laps, positions were gained to finish 11th overall, 7th military and 3rd Super Category to bring home some more silverware.

With some quick maintenance, chain tension checked and bearings cleaned and lubricated it was time for race 2. Matt again qualified, but with an unknown fault lurking in the background still managed to qualify 22nd. With a strong start again and gaining many places with in the first few laps, Matt settled into his stint of the race. With strategy the same as last race Matt pitted for a fuel stop and Will was back out and quickly on pace. Unfortunately, with 30 minutes left and on a dummy pit stop the front left tyre had a puncture, with a swift wheel change conducted in the pits. The unfortunate event had cost 4 laps knocking the kart out of getting a Super Category trophy. However, the drama did not stop there, with the lurking issue coming to the surface. The steering column support struts, an import part of being able to steer, had both snapped off just above the weld. Will tried to nurse the kart to a finish, but with only 90 seconds of the race to go, the kart became too dangerous to go on and had to be retired. Despite a disappointing finish, a good weekend of racing for Kart 52.

Kart 54

Taking advantage of the extra session for novice drivers to begin testing day, Sgt Rob Baptista consolidated the track walk and soon got to grips with the track layout.

With the kart already balanced and running well, the remainder of the day saw both Will Fletcher and Sgt Baptista bringing down their lap times as they adjusted tyre pressures and sprocket sizes. The latter found the best gearing to maximise engine performance and find the best pace for kart 54.

Will Fletcher saw himself in his first qualifying and race start in 2 years for race 1. With just a 6 mins qualifying session, Will soon found some space and managed to put down a time on par with his best practice session lap times and managed to qualify 30th. Following the driver's brief earlier, the drivers had convinced the clerk of the course to use the first chicane on the first lap, as there were concerns with the whole grid being able to get through the tricky first few corners without incident. With everyone making it through the very tight first chicane successfully, everything settled down quickly after. Having a slightly different strategy than the other 3 Vulcan karts meant that both drivers would do alternating 40 mins and 20 mins stints for the 2-hour race. Having completed all stints without incident and keeping some consistency with pace throughout the race, Sgt Baptista was able to bring kart 54 home in 24th, gaining a respectable 6 places.

Sgt Baptista took the helm for the Race 2 and started the race, as both drivers switched roles while keeping the same strategy. Baptista tried finding some space at the rear of the pack by allowing the karts ahead to pull away for the first couple of last before trying to push for a quicker lap time. Not quite achieving a lap time as good as his previous best over the weekend, Baptista qualified in 33th place. With a much more competitive grid for this second 2-hour race of the afternoon, Baptista and Fletcher still managed to gain a number of places in an incident free and clean race. Having successfully completed all pit stops and keeping to the strategy, Fletcher was running in 28th, before disaster struck and his front left tyre decided to come off the rim, leaving him beached on the grass at the far end of the track. With less than 10 mins until the end of the race, it would not be possible to recover the kart and repair it in time to get back out and finish the race. With this being the final piece of action of the weekend the kart was recovered post-race and in 33rd place ahead of last place of kart 21 from RAF Leeming who also suffered a mechanical earlier in the race.

Premier

Testing day started well for Flt Lt Ling in the 2-stroke class, adapting setup to the warm track conditions. However, after the lunch break mechanical gremlins appeared, with no electrical power getting to the engine’s starter motor. After closer inspection and checking all wiring in the system, the battery was found to be at fault. Thankfully, a spare was sourced prior to race day.

Ling would start Heat 1 in 2nd position, but faced a cut out engine just metres from the start line. After troubleshooting in the pits, the Clerk of the Course was happy for him to re-join mid-race on lap 6. Whilst a last-place finish was always going to happen, 10 seconds were gained on 5th place in the 6 remaining laps of the race, showing decent pace.

Heat 2 was started in 4th, holing position throughout the race. Despite following the battle ahead for 3rd, Ling was unable to find a suitable gap for an overtake and finished within half a second of 3rd.

Heat 3 would be started from pole position, unfortunately dropping a place into the first turn. The next 4 laps was spent using a balanced approach to racing; looking for overtaking opportunities ahead, whilst equally driving defensively to try and hold off an experienced local racer behind. Despite the valiant effort, Ling dropped to 3rd on lap 5, now being pressured by the 4th placed racer behind. After an unexpected move into the fast right-hander, the two karts raced side-by-side into the tight chicane before Ling had no choice but to back out and let the place go. Whilst frustrating to lose the position on the final lap, the close, fair, and respectful racing meant there was no real disappointment.

With poor finishing positions across the heats, Ling would start the 12-minute final in 4th place. Holding position at the start, he spent the whole race sat on the bumper of the kart ahead, with the timing gap never more than 0.65 of a second for the duration of the race. With the pace pretty much identical, there was no opportunity for a safe overtake, meaning Ling had to settle for a 4th placed finish and miss out on a podium.

A slightly disappointing race weekend where engine issues yet again reared their head; however, more points for the AFKC standings. Ling retains 3rd place in the Championship, with 2 rounds to go.

Final Thoughts

The continuous dedication from all members of Waddington Vulcans paid off again in round 5, bringing home 3 bronze trophies; Kart 50 finishing 3rd overall in Race 2, Kart 51 3rd in the super category in Race 2, and Kart 52 taking 3rd in the super category in Race 1.

A good haul of silverware considering the 60+ entries the AFKC sees at each round.

We would like to thank our sponsor, tlmNexus their continued support throughout the season, supporting our current position in the championship.

We look forward to the penultimate round of the 2024 season at Bayford Meadows Kart Circuit, 30-31 Aug."

With thanks to John Blondel, Thomas Haywood and team for text and photos.

Armed Forces Karting Championships (A.F.K.C.)

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 16:09:29 GMT

tlmNexus continues to sponsor RAF Waddington Vulcans Kart Team as they storm through the 2024 season.

RAF Waddington Vulcans Karting Team have had a challenging yet inspiring start to the season and we at tlmNexus are glad to be able to support them as they compete in the Armed Forces Karting Championships 2024.

Round 1 started at Wombwell with the Pro-Kart Endurance team walking away with 8 trophies, picking up one for top heavy in the final. In the Premier class, Flt Lt Ling started his first season off novice plates, and despite a damaged engine, finished 5th.

Round 2 at Ellough Park saw variable driving conditions, with AS1(T) Tom Lucas and Cpl Dan Holt finishing Race 3 with 7th overall and 3rd military. Behind the wheel of kart 52, Sgt Matt Daniel finished 16th overall, 9th military and 4th Super Category (S.C.). Cpl Liam Burke at the wheel of kart 52 held 4th place military and 2nd S.C in a race plagued with incidents. While Cpl Will Wright, LCpl Bailey Vernon-Higgs and Sgt Rob Baptista managed to take 29th overall, 20th military and 11th in S.C. despite engine issues.

Round 3 at Clay Pigeon gave Sgt Rob Baptista the chance to learn the track in a novice session ahead of the Official Practice which stood him in good stead, finishing Race 3 in 27th place. On Saturday’s Race Day the team participated in Races 1 and 3, with each race having a 40 kart grid and lasting 110 mins which needed to include 3 mandatory pit stops and a driver change. Having digested the strategy set by the Team Principle (TP) the night before, everyone was itching to get on track after the drivers brief. Cpl Burke finished 3rd in class and 17th overall with Lt Ling finishing 3rd in the Premier Class.

The next round at Fulbeck, Lincs, between 27-30 Jun 24 is going to include a full 4 days of action, with the usual A.F.K.C. Practice and Race days sandwiched between the RAF Karting Open Day on Thu 27 Jun, and the RAF Karting Championship on Sun 30 Jun. Some of the tlmNexus team will be going along to the Open Day and we look forward to another great day at Fulbeck!

With thanks to John Blondel and colleagues for photos and superb race reporting. Read the full report on the first three rounds by clicking here .

Team GB Bobsleigh bid for Olympics 2026

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 09:13:41 GMT

BobTeamStandbridge reflects on the team's 2023/24 season

John Stanbridge, pictured right, gives an update of their journey thus far, as the team look to secure a place in the Olympics 2026:

"The team and I are back in the UK after an amazing experience at the World Championships in Winterberg, Germany. We achieved a place of 23 ^rd out of 28 sleds in the competitive world class field. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the track at Winterberg, our first races for GB started here and didn’t quite go to plan. It was amazing to come back and show how far we have developed since that first season back in 2020. Outside the top 20 by only a few tenths and finishing strong with a 19 ^th place run on our last heat. Although I am a little disappointed with the result as I expected to be inside the top 20, I remind myself that I’m lucky to just be around and the season we had this year has surpassed everyone’s expectations. Attending a World championships is a serious marker for the team to show the BBSA and UK Sport that we are a real contender in achieving Olympic qualification in 2026.

With the support of tlmNexus the team has continued to grow and improve year on year and although I’m back home now, returning to the normality of RAF work life, I must focus and look towards next season and the opportunities that should become available following our results this season. No rest for the wicked, as they say.

As a team, we need to raise further funding and sponsorship heading into the 2024/25 season, with equipment being a big factor for the team’s success in 4-man moving forward. Post Christmas, we made a rental investment into a competitive 4-man sled which ensured we secured our highest 4-man result of 9 ^th on the European cup. Investment into a newer competitive 4-man sled is in the region between £30-40k.

We have had plenty of exposure throughout the RAF this season with 3 RAF news articles, 2 BBC Shropshire radio interviews, Articles on the RAF Intranet page and RAF Cosford apprentice magazine alongside our linked in social media that has seen nearly 60,000 impressions over the past 12 months.

The success and result this season should also qualify myself for the RAF Elite athlete program, allowing me to concentrate on improving my athletic potential and ensuring the team is ready for the games in 2026. This will also open more opportunities for engagement with yourself and other sponsors.

It’s been amazing to have the support of tlmNexus on this journey so far, as we look to secure an Olympic games spot in 2026."

Digital Transformation in Defence Equipment Support

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 11:16:57 GMT

Team Defence Information member tlmNexus Ltd. gives an overview of digital transformation in defence equipment support during 2023.

tlmNexus is a digital technology company working in the defence sector and a member of the Team Defence Information (TD-info) trade association whose scope covers product support and change to electronic business. TD-info organised several events during 2023 that gave their members and MOD stakeholders the opportunity to collaborate and share output and looking back over last year’s events gives us an overview of what’s happened with digital transformation in defence equipment support during 2023.

The adoption of digital techniques in defence support is nothing new, but the rapid advent of wide-area networks and increased processing capabilities powering Industry 4.0 robotics, automation and AI, prompted the need for defence to adopt a coherent approach through the publication of the MOD’s Digital Strategy for Defence in May 2021.

The digital strategy complemented the 2021 Integrated Review and associated Defence Command Paper that looked, inter-alia, for defence to move from the industrial age to the information age to face the realities of global technological competition. In particular, the digital transformation of defence support was needed to generate competitive advantage through more agile, effective, and resilient support solutions, including an integrated approach with new tools and new ways of working.

The Support Chain Seminar in January 2023 provided Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) with the opportunity to deliver an update on its Digital Engineering Transformation Strategy, published in May 2022. DE&S intends to leverage the advances in digital technologies to enable faster acquisition and more effective support and the Strategy recognises that Digital Engineering is already being implemented while outlining the vision and determining the approach, introducing the concept of Digital Products, Digital Approaches and Digital Improvements. Specific examples included the Aeralis modular light jet aircraft, that proposes digital engineering techniques throughout the lifecycle of the system, and the digital missile programmes in Raytheon and MBDA. Both evidenced that digital engineering techniques were already in use and providing the benefits of reduced timescales and reduced costs for equipment development. Similar benefits were being realised in the equipment support environment by Babcock and Rolls-Royce.

DE&S was in the process of establishing an Availability Control Centre (ACC) that would provide project and equipment performance statuses and enable effective and timely decision-making to address project bottlenecks. Various catalyst projects were under way addressing the themes of equipment readiness, interoperability, and speed of deployment. By the end of 2023, a minimum viable product (MVP) of the ACC would demonstrate the gains made, including a model of end-to-end defence, a digital twin/digital engineering environment plus setting Digital Engineering as the default for new acquisition programmes.

In the wider MOD, Digital Exploitation for Defence (DX4D) involved an overarching coherent digital strategy across all the organisations to support the integrated operating concept. Business Modernisation for Support (BMFS) would enable equipment delivery and asset management which would be data-centric rather than equipment centric. The Defence Equipment Engineering Asset Management System (DEEAMS) would deliver a solid start with a consistent data framework. Supporting the aim to increase availability levels by 50% by 2025, improvements across air, maritime and land domains would be informed by the Increasing Defence Outputs study involving delivery of Typhoon, Type 31 Frigate and Challenger 2.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted the Integrated Review Refresh, which was published in 2023, along with an updated Command Paper and a subsequent refresh of the Digital Strategy.

The SupportNET conference in May discussed the lessons learned from Ukraine regarding the need for resilience and making the case to balance the investment in efficiency with resilience. The focus on efficiency since the end of the Cold War and the absence of state-on-state conflict had resulted in support solutions, such as just-in-time supply, that were efficient but not resilient. There was a recognition that readiness involved a combination of availability, capability and sustainability and that current levels of readiness were unacceptably low. Growing state threats in a contested and volatile world, including the increasing aggressive military and economic behaviour of China, required a re-establishment of NATO collective defence, with joint and integrated capabilities, which would rely on standardisation and the collaboration with industry in the force mix.

Global events provided further evidence that the nature of modern conflict was rapidly digitising. Digital was now seen as a force multiplier – fewer people, reduced time to market and better availability. AI and ML would deliver revolutionary change, enabling a move from analytics to predictive capability.

Under the theme of Digitising Defence, Defence Digital’s intent was to deliver customer relevant services across the spectrum of defence operations, along with their ongoing development and transition, using the Service Executive Model. Key to that would be a digital backbone that would enable the exploitation of data, importantly aligned with current MOD acquisition policy. Collaboration with Industry would be needed in order to provide the synchronised data fabric that would provide the opportunity for exploitation. There was a need to incentivise industry to overcome the barriers to sharing data, barriers that were caused by contractual arrangements and data ownership and security rather than technology blockers. The Commercial X initiative was under way, designed to streamline commercial processes between the MOD and Industry. It would also be key to see the publication and adoption of data standards and policies to support collaboration and integration across Defence.

The Defence Digital Foundry was already enabling rapid and effective product delivery. In mid-2023, 300 people in the Foundry were delivering applications in support of business services, learning services, imagery exploitation and operational support. The Foundry was evolving and maturing its services and delivery for enterprise scale and pan-defence exploitation. Alongside this, the Defence AI Centre had been established to develop the AI platform, tools and AI products required to enable MOD to exploit the power of AI.

Several single-service initiatives were under way. The Army’s digital and data plan sat as part of programme Theia addressing Army digital transformation. This involved the establishment of an Army cloud and an Army digital integration centre which would provide Land component data fusion and analytics engine capability. The Royal Navy had established a Maritime Digital and Data Framework outlining eight specific strategic outcomes to be delivered by 2030, which would introduce advanced analytical capabilities and ensure a tangible impact on operational and business performance. The RAF’s digital strategy included examining the life of future platforms and incorporating technology progression. Project Appivate had already delivered an application that supports the Air Cadets as well as the Henosis asset booking and tracking tool for combat air force training.

As another year of events starts, it will be interesting to see how digital transformation evolves and we can ask Chat GPT the same question that we asked in December 2023, tell me about digital transformation in defence equipment support…….to which it gave the following answer:

Digital transformation in defence equipment support involves leveraging advanced technologies and data-driven approaches to enhance the maintenance, repair, and overall lifecycle management of military hardware. This transformation aims to improve equipment readiness, reduce downtime, optimize logistics, and enhance the overall efficiency of defence operations. Here are key components of digital transformation in defence equipment support:

Predictive Maintenance. Implementing predictive maintenance using sensors and monitoring systems allows defense forces to anticipate equipment failures before they occur. This approach minimizes downtime, extends the lifespan of equipment, and optimizes maintenance schedules.

Condition-Based Monitoring. Utilizing sensors and IoT devices to continuously monitor the condition of military equipment in real-time. This data is then analyzed to provide insights into equipment health, enabling proactive maintenance and reducing the likelihood of unexpected failures.

Data Analytics and Machine Learning. Applying data analytics and machine learning algorithms to large datasets generated by equipment. These technologies help identify patterns, predict maintenance needs, and optimize maintenance strategies based on historical and real-time data.

Remote Diagnostics and Repair. Enabling remote diagnostics through connected technologies allows experts to analyze and troubleshoot equipment issues from a distance. In some cases, remote repairs or adjustments can be performed, reducing the need for physical presence and improving response times.

Augmented Reality (AR) for Maintenance. Integrating augmented reality into maintenance processes enables technicians to access real-time information, visualizations, and step-by-step guidance while performing repairs. This improves the accuracy and efficiency of maintenance tasks.

Digital Twins. Creating digital twins of military equipment involves creating virtual replicas that mimic the physical characteristics and behavior of the actual equipment. This allows for detailed analysis, simulation, and testing, facilitating better understanding and maintenance planning.

Supply Chain Optimization. Applying digital technologies to optimize the defence supply chain, ensuring timely availability of spare parts and reducing lead times for equipment repairs. This includes the use of advanced logistics systems, demand forecasting, and inventory management.

Blockchain for Logistics and Maintenance Records. Implementing blockchain technology to secure and streamline logistics and maintenance records. This ensures data integrity, transparency, and traceability throughout the equipment lifecycle.

Integration of RFID and IoT. Using Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) and IoT devices to track and manage equipment in real-time. This provides accurate location data, enhances asset visibility, and supports efficient inventory management.

Collaborative Platforms. Utilizing collaborative digital platforms that enable communication and information sharing among maintenance teams, equipment manufacturers, and other stakeholders. This promotes collaboration, knowledge sharing, and quick decision-making.

Cybersecurity Measures. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures to protect digital systems and sensitive maintenance data from unauthorized access, ensuring the integrity and security of maintenance processes.

By embracing these digital transformation initiatives, defence organizations can improve the reliability and availability of their equipment, reduce maintenance costs, and enhance overall mission effectiveness. The integration of advanced technologies allows for a more proactive and data-driven approach to equipment support, ensuring that military assets are ready and capable when needed.

BobTeam Stanbridge - the Road to World Championships

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 15:20:49 GMT

BobTeam Stanbridge prove world cup potential

As sponsors to John Stanbridge's Team GB Bobsleigh team, we are delighted to share their amazing progress in the European cup, not least in spite of John's personal injury just over a year ago, from which he has made an amazing recovery.

Words and photos provided by John Stanbridge:

"The return to Elite sport and GB Bobsleigh, for myself, has been more successful than anyone thought possible. Overcoming the initial injury was a physical challenge but nothing could prepare me for dealing with the mental aspects involved with such a high-risk, adrenaline filled sport and how my body would react. As a team, we have achieved 4 ‘top 6’ wider podium finishes in the 2-man discipline, out of 5 races. We also secured our first Top 10 result in the 4-man discipline. These results have placed us in 6 ^th overall in the European Cup combined rankings and 5 ^th Overall in the 2-man discipline. The only teams ahead of us are the powerhouse nations of Germany and Switzerland. IBSF Ranking .

The success of these results has proven that, as a team we have world cup potential, meeting the standards set by the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton federation to qualify the team to race against the very best and make our 2-man World Cup debut. This will take place in St Moritz, Switzerland on the 13 ^{th of} January at around 1pm and will be televised to over 25,000 subscribers on YouTube. ( https://www.youtube.com/@IBSFsliding ) Along with another World Cup race in Lillehammer Norway (selection email attached).

Our success so far has also put us on track to potentially qualify and be selected for the IBSF World Championships in Winterberg between 17 ^th February – 6 ^th March 2024. Attending World Cups and World Championships are strong supporting markers in achieving UK sport funding and securing Elite Athlete status within the RAF Sport pathway. We are proving as a team that we have some real potential to be a competitive international bobsleigh team and that the goal of qualifying for the 2026 Olympics is not out of reach.

Our season began In Sigulda, Latvia in late October for some initial ice training in preparation for the last 2-man race of 2023. The initial nerves of being back inside a bobsleigh, at a track I had never slid at before was tough. In the first couple of days, I did make a mistake which resulted in a crash. However, this turned out to give me a bit of relief and confidence that my neck was strong and that the injury I had last year was a freak accident. During the crash I did cut my knee open, this required 11 stitches and meant that I had to sit out from sliding for a week. This time away gave me the opportunity to watch other sleds and lines and re-focus my efforts. We ended up finishing in Sigulda with over 25 runs on ice and fully confident for the European Cup races in December.

Our first races of the season took place in Lillehammer, Norway, with one the busiest racing schedule of the IBSF calendar - 6 races in 7 days. Lillehammer is a track in which I have a lot of experience at, with over 100 runs on ice here we headed into the races quietly confident. Our 2-man equipment is quite competitive and with a solid start I knew we could turn a few heads. The first 3 races saw the team take 6 ^th , 9 ^th & 6 ^th again, outperforming our start times I drove us from 17 ^th place up to a top 6 position on 2 occasions in a field of 31 sleds. Beating the other GB and Marine Pilot who were ranked above us within the GB setup, and only a few hundredths away from 5 ^th place. With a relatively inexperienced crew we set out on performing in the 4-man races too, with the goal to secure a top 10. We achieved this on the last races placing 13th, 11th, 10 ^th . With further investment in our 4-man equipment in the future and improvement in our starts and experience we expect to build on our results into 2024.

The last races for myself and the team took place in Sigulda, Latvia. A double 2-man race at one of the most technical tracks in Europe which usually sees a smaller field of teams due to its location. After our recent podiums Sigulda opened the opportunity to prove that we as a team were not a one-track wonder. Due to my performances in Lillehammer the federation recognised our potential and allowed myself to race with a slightly better brakeman. This improved our push time enabling us to have the 5 ^th fastest push time, ensuring we had the best opportunity to improve and challenge for more podiums. We placed 6 ^th in race 4 and 6 ^th in race 5 matching the Swiss team to a hundredth of a second.

The final challenge of 2023 was to return to the track Altenberg, Germany in which my accident took place. This was probably the toughest few runs of my bobsleigh career to date, the work and runs which total nearly 75 runs beforehand kept me steady and allowed me to fall back on my training. We finished up with 10 runs on track and confident that we would be in a good position to race here again in the opening races of 2024.

The hard work and determination to get back to competing and the years of commitment developing myself both physically and mentally to perform at the highest level, is finally paying off."

tlmNexus joins Make UK Defence

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:44:28 GMT

tlmNexus becomes a member of national not-for-profit Make UK Defence

tlmNexus is delighted to have become a member of Make UK Defence. Make UK Defence is a non-profit organisation that champions and celebrates the UK's defence and security industry, representing the sector's interests to government.

Members of Make UK are behind over 60% of all UK research and development and Make UK is focused on creating the right environment for UK manufacturers to "thrive, innovate and compete". To find out more, visit their website .

New Arkwright Engineering scholar for tlmNexus

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 15:31:00 GMT

tlmNexus continues sponsorship of the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship

We are delighted to announce our continuing partnership with the Arkwright Engineering scholarship programme. tlmNexus' Head of HR, Emma Wade attended the recent awards ceremony at the Institute of Engineering and Technology in London where she met our new scholar, Brighton College pupil, Datis Reyhani, (both pictured).

A keen problem-solver, Datis has a particular interest in mechanical engineering, control systems and electronics and is hoping to pursue a career in mechatronics. They are a prominent leader in their school's robotics club and a lance corporal in their CCF regiment. We hope they will get great benefit from learning about tlmNexus' software solutions and picking the brains of our many ex-Forces engineers.

Named after Sir Richard Arkwright, the "father of the modern industrial factory system", the Arkwright Engineering scholarship programme has been running since 1991 and in 2001 became part of the educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust, whose aim is to empower young people to explore STEM subjects.

Students apply to be Arkwright scholars during year 11 and begin their scholarship at the start of year 12 (year 13 in Scotland). tlmNexus became sponsors in 2011 and over 6000 scholarships have been awarded to date.

Forces2Canaries Team Raise Over £3k for Blind Veterans UK

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 15:06:24 GMT

Ex-tlmNexus employee, Andy Nelson and team have raised £3,236.00 for Blind Veterans UK

We were very pleased to sponsor, Forces2Canaries (F2C), the Norwich City Armed Forces Supporters group, who took part in the 2023 Veterans Banger Rally from Dover to Gibraltar, raising vital funds for the UK Blind Veterans.

Andy Nelson, who used to work at tlmNexus, shares the team's journey:

"The challenge was to purchase a vehicle for less than £1000 and drive it over a 7 day period in set stages from Dover to Gibraltar. The F2C team decided to take the ‘luxury’ route and purchased a 2002 S-Type Jaguar with 98,000 on the clock for £900. After a bit of maintenance, tyres, battery and brakes, we reported to Dover and joined the other 30 odd vehicles and their Veteran occupants who were taking part.

The rally took us to Rouen, Poitiers, Pau, Zaragoza, Benidorm, Malaga and finally Gibraltar, arriving at The Devil’s Tower Barracks on Sunday 1 Oct. We also added a diversion to Dunkirk en-route to Rouen to pay our respects to the fallen, and again to Oradour-sur-Glane, a French ‘Martyr village’, on the way to Pau from Poitiers. In all we travelled 1525 miles. Whilst I can think of no better vehicle than a comfortable Jaguar to cruise across France and Spain in, I should add the heating was stuck on at 33 ^O C, the air-conditioning didn’t work and we had a perpetual Gear Box fault that meant stopping and ‘fault clearing’ every time we tried to accelerate too fast, i.e at every traffic light, roundabout and toll-booths etc, but hey, what did we expect for £900?

To date we have raised £3236 for UK Blind Veterans, a total which has far exceeded our ambitions. The support offered by tlmNEXUS has contributed greatly to the success of our adventure, and we are very thankful to you and all those that supported us."

What a great achievement by Andy and his teammates, Neville Townsend and Gary Riches. And of course, we were delighted to see our logo alongside the perfect French picnic!

tlmNexus sponsors Yeovil Rugby Club age grade teams

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 08:53:42 GMT

Mark Chesterton shares his thoughts on tlmNexus’ sponsorship of Yeovil Rugby Club’s age grade teams

tlmNexus’ Customer Integration Engineer – Team Leader, Mark Chesterton shares his thoughts on tlmNexus’ sponsorship of Yeovil Rugby Club’s age grade teams:

“Yeovil Rugby Club provides an all-inclusive environment for people to enjoy playing and spectating alike, from the Men’s and Women’s teams, through a very active mixed ability team and down to our age grade teams. Yeovil was the starting point for current Red Roses Captain Marlie Packer, who regularly returns to meet our players.

Our age grade players start at 6 years old and play through to 18 when they move into the adult game. My role is to coach the current under 9s team.

Having played in my RAF days, I came back to the game as a coach 4 years ago. I am learning alongside the players as the rules have changed a lot since my playing days. The rules for age grade players change each year, they add more elements of the game each time, which challenges the coaches as much as the players.

The core players have been with me from starting at U6 and I will stay with them as they progress each year. For the 23/24 season we have around 20 players with several new starters this season, which is a challenge as they begin contact rugby this year, tackling instead of tag rugby.

Being a coach is very rewarding, I have a great bunch of players who bring a lot of enthusiasm and energy to the pitch during training and matches. Most importantly we all have plenty of laughs; the coaches, players and parents/spectators all have a really fun time. We even do a parents v kids game at the end of the season. Watching our players grow in confidence and gain game skills is where we get our enthusiasm to get up on a wet and windy Sunday morning in the middle of the winter.

We are very fortunate that tlmNexus has become one of our age grade sponsors with the company logo on the front of our match shirts. I can’t tell you how proud my players are when they put on a match shirt and take to the field. They all stand a little bit taller, run a little bit faster and are a little bit braver when they are there as a team in their match kit and without our generous sponsors that wouldn’t be the case.”

Text by Mark Chesterton

Photos courtesy of Rugby World and Mark Chesterton

tlmNexus receives Silver Award in AFC Employer Recognition Scheme 2023

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 12:44:21 GMT

Tony Harris and Emma Wade accept the award on behalf of tlmNexus Ltd.

Tony Harris (Commercial Director) and Emma Wade (Head of HR) attended the South East Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Association Awards Ceremony at the magnificent Admiralty House, official home of the Second Sea Lord, Vice Admiral Martin Connell CBE at HM Naval Base, Portsmouth. They were delighted to receive the Silver Award, presented by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire, Mr Nigel Atkinson.

His Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth Commanding Officer, Commodore John Voyce OBE ADC, gave the opening address, with the closing address given by Commander Maritime Reserves, Jo Adey.

A wonderful evening was had, including welcome drinks hosted by Lt Cdr Lumsden, Executive Officer HMS King Alfred and a buffet supper served in Admiralty House reception room. Music was provided by the Royal Air Force Salon in Orchestra, with RM Bugler sounding "Call to Shore", while the Beating Retreat was performed by the Band of His Majesty's Royal Marines Portsmouth.

tlmNexus is honoured to move from a Bronze to a Silver Award in recognition of the company's continued commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant.

Strong performances from tlmNexus sponsored Vulcans Karting Team keep the pressure on

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 11:12:08 GMT

Flt Lt Ling sits 2nd in the Premier Championship and 1st in the Novice following AFKC Round 5 at "home track" Fulbeck

Round 5 of the Armed Forces Karting Championship saw an extended race weekend for the RAF Waddington Vulcans, at our “home” track located at Fulbeck, a circuit located on our own doorstep in Lincolnshire.

Day 1 (Thursday 27 ^th July)

The race weekend started a day earlier than normal for this round with all the usual set up being carried out on the Wednesday, in advance of the RAF Karting open day on Thursday. Being the local round, it was an ideal opportunity for us to invite some of the important people behind the success of the team to experience what we do over a race weekend. Representatives from the team’s supporters and Waddington personnel who enable us to go racing were invited along to take some of our karts out on the track. The day started off well with our guests enjoying some great weather and conditions for karting during visitor practice sessions. A strong contingent of representatives from station MT arrived to experience the karts as a ‘thank-you’ for the work they put in to help make our racing weekends as painless as possible. However, the ‘motorsport gods’ are a cruel bunch and just as our MT novices were taking to the track, the heavens opened and our guests got to experience karting at its absolute hardest and most raw, driving in the rain on slick tyres. All of our guests emerged at the end soaking wet, but all with big smiles on their faces after having an enjoyable experience on track. After all guests had left from what had been a very successful day for us giving something back, we needed to set to work fixing up some mechanical issues that had arisen from the extra day of track time, with kart 54 needing a whole rear axle rebuild due to a broken brake disc. The team worked into the evening to get the karts ready for the full day of official practice ahead.

Day 2 (Friday 28 ^th July)

Official practice started with all eyes looking up at the sky, as the wettest July was threatening to turn the race meet into a very difficult rainy weekend. With Fulbeck being a familiar track, minimal setup changes were needed to get all 5 karts up to strong competitive pace. By the end of the day testing all drivers managed to record competitive looking times, within 0.4s across all karts, which gave massive confidence going into race day. Since the station Health & Wellbeing Day we have seen a couple of new faces at the club, who worked with the team learning to fix and set up the karts which was a huge help in getting all karts prepared for race day. All eyes turned to the weather apps overnight to see if all of the hard work setting up in the dry would be in vain for race day.

Day 3 (Saturday 29 ^th July)

Race day started with the best possible news; a dry day of racing! Qualifying started for race 1 with a new format for this weekend, allowing all 38 teams to have a fairer shot at clean laps for recording qualifying times. All teams across the grid seemed to struggle to find the pace previously seen during Friday practice. The Vulcans had a difficult time, struggling to recapture the times we knew possible. Yellow flags plagued the session and hindered the team overall, with karts 50, 51, 53 & 54 all qualifying slightly lower than hoped, but kart 52 pulled out a great lap at the death to qualify 9 ^th overall. With the team ready for the start of race 1 we knew there were a lot of places to be gained, with our pace much stronger than the qualifying session suggested. Kart 50 and 51 put in strong performances and showed great race pace to make 8 & 11 positions respectively during the race. Kart 52 put in another really strong round and finished 4 ^th military narrowly missing out on a podium. Kart 54 struggled with a slight brake issue during the entirety of the race but still managed to make good ground and gain places. Kart 53 put in a consistent strong performance and ended up bringing home a 3 ^rd place in class trophy, a great drive by the team in the super category.

Race 2 qualifying was head and shoulders above the qualifying results seen for race 1 with all karts qualifying higher up the pecking order and primed for a strong race. The race was going exactly as hoped for the Vulcans, with karts 50, 51 & 52 all in the top 8 military, with 53 and 54 just outside of the top ten. Approximately 25 minutes into the race an incident occurred on track bringing out a red flag, halting proceedings. After a lengthy delay involving the medical team and an injured driver from one of the associate teams, the decision was made for the race to be abandoned. Whilst the team were initially disappointed with a promising race ahead, it soon turned to relief that the injured driver wasn’t as serious as initially first feared.

Premier Class Report:

In the premier category, Flt Lt Ling was after a good result at Waddington’s home race. Friday testing went well, refining gearing setup and tyre pressures to extract maximum pace on race day.

Heat 1 initially started badly, with Ling’s engine bogging down when the lights extinguished and dropping him some 10 metres off the back of the pack. However, when the power kicked back in he was able to catch up and avoid an incident in turn 1, moving up from 10 ^th to 6 ^th on the first lap. Places were traded for the remainder of the race, finishing in 4 ^th .

Heat 2 produced a much better start from 11 ^th on the grid, moving up to 8 ^th on the first lap, then 6 ^th on lap 2 after two karts crashed. Making the most of overtakes on the main straight, Ling gained 3 ^rd place on lap 7 and held position to the finish.

Heat 3 started from 10 ^th , with 2 karts coming together into the first turn and Ling moving up to 5 ^th through the mayhem. 4 ^th was gained on lap 3, followed by many laps of chasing down the two karts battling for 2 ^nd and 3 ^rd . An unsuccessful overtake attempt was made on lap 8, dropping him a few seconds back. However, on the final lap the two karts ahead came together on the hairpin, allowing Ling to nip through and take 2 ^nd at the finish line.

With strong finishes after starting from the back row in all 3 heats, Ling was rewarded with a front row start in 2 ^nd place for the final. Unfortunately, he faced another poor start, losing 2 ^nd place into turn 1. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to catch the leaders but grew a safe margin to the pack behind. After a relatively lonely and uneventful race, he took 3 ^rd place at the chequered flag.

Fulbeck proved to be Ling’s most successful race so far, with silverware for 3 ^rd place and Top Novice. With one round remaining in the season, he sits 2 ^nd in the Premier Championship and 1 ^st in the Novice competition. The final round at Rowrah will be the most important race yet, with all to play for.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, a pretty good weekend for the Vulcans at our ‘home’ track. Some strong performances help keep the pressure on our competitors for the Station Trophy, kart 53 bringing home some silverware and more experience gained for the team as a whole. A short break in the season now gives us some time to get into the nitty gritty mechanical work ready for a race calendar highlight; Round 6 at Rowrah.

As always, our thanks go out to all those at RAF Waddington who support us with our racing; in particular the Stn PEd Flt, Accounts and MT. In addition, to our supporters tlmNexus, ICS and JP Racing.

Station Standings after round 5:

RN Fleet Air Arm – 409pts

REME Corps – 360pts

RAF Waddington – 357pts

Cpl Liam Burke

RAF Waddington Vulcans

Distribution:

RAF Waddington Stn Cdr

RAF Waddington Media Officer

RAF Waddington PEd Flt

Text and photos courtesy of John Blondel and the Vulcans Karting Team

Recognition of our strength as a forces-friendly company

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 15:19:17 GMT

We are delighted to have received an Armed Forces Covenant Silver Award 2023 for our commitment to supporting the armed forces community, and for being a forces-friendly employer.

tlmNexus has been built by technical experts and former serving military officers working together to create technology which furthers the strength of the defence sector. A significant proportion of our workforce is made up of Service Veterans; we highly value their skills and experience. We would not be where we are today without their ability to understand and solve our customers’ needs, nor without the empathy with which they operate with everyone, including customers, work colleagues and those who use our software and consultancy services.

We engage with organisations such as the Officers’ Association and the Careers Transition Partnership to source job candidates, and share our experiences about how best to transition to civilian work and life.

We have supported many service charities such as BLESMA, Help for Heroes and SSAFA, and provide financial sponsorship of armed forces sporting organisations; currently these include RAF Dinghy Sailing, RAF Waddington Kart Club and the RAF Bobsleigh team, and have in the past sponsored Royal Navy Winter Sports Association activities.

It is also our policy to support Reservists and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers with paid leave for their relevant activities of up to five days a year.

Supporting our Head of IT in competitive car racing

Fri, 21 Jul 2023 08:45:09 GMT

We’re delighted to continue our sponsorship of C1 racing team 3 Spark; our head of IT James Page is one of the team’s directors, and the skills he uses support his leadership role at tlmNexus and vice versa.

C1 Racing focuses on endurance racing, for motorsport enthusiasts who want to experience the thrill of racing without breaking the bank. The club's calendar features a mix of 3-hour and 24-hour races at various circuits around the UK, and UK teams also compete in Europe. The races are open to teams of two to six drivers, with each team responsible for sourcing and preparing their own car.

3 Spark’s 2022 C1 racing season

3 Spark Racing’s 2022 began in April, when the race car came out of hibernation for a full service and spruce up. Some new regulations were introduced in 2022 including poly bushes to improve the car’s handling under heavy braking, and shaving the club spec tyres, allowing for better thermal degradation, which prevents blistering and delamination under high temperatures, and extends the life of the tyre during a race.

The team has custom-developed its own programme to manipulate the data from the TSL timing website, allowing them to send out audio notifications to the garage mechanics, pit crew and pit wall about their car, giving them a big advantage at the pit stops. Nobody else is doing this on the grid, which is testament to the IT skills that complement the driving abilities of the team.

First race in 2022 - Snetterton 4-Hour

Snetterton is a fantastic and challenging circuit and a great way for the team to start the season. Each year they learn more about how to get the most out of the car. The preparation includes draining the fuel to the optimum levels, and adjusting the alignment for the circuit.

Qualifying was a challenge, and the grid was very competitive. 3 Spark had a new driver, so the goal was to bank laps and let James Taylor, their fastest driver try and get them up the grid for the race. James managed to bank a 2:45.717, which got 3 Spark to P45 for the race out of 57 cars., and later that day attained P27, after a difficult second stint.

Anglesey Into the Night Race – 4.5 hours

In June, the team competed in its very first night race in Anglesey, which entailed fitting the club spec high beam lights and some of their own lights to make it easier to identify the car in the dark. The team qualified in P11 of 18 cars, gaining crucial night time driving experience for the 24-hour race opportunity later in the year. The car ran perfectly and whilst it finished in P14, it was excellent practice.

Donnington – 3 Hour

The team welcomed back Stephen Dunn to drive in place of James Page, who was unable to drive at the Donnington 3-hour race, which saw some drama. Stephen came into contact with another car during his qualifying lap, causing substantial damage to the boot space and the fuel pump system, meaning the car stopped on track. This was repaired quickly, and the car got back out on the circuit so Stephen could bank his fast lap.

The team managed to fight their way back up to P22 from the issue in qualifying. The car’s structural damage had to be fixed before Snetterton in October.

24 Hour Portimão – Portugal

The team’s friends in the EMAX Motorsport team offered seats in one of its cars to race at the Portimão Formula 1 circuit in Portugal. 24-hour racing is the pinnacle of endurance racing, a true test of the car and driver and without EMAX’s help, would have been unattainable for 3 Spark.

The temperatures in Portimão were reaching almost 40 degrees Celsius during the day which had a big impact on the cars and the drivers. Just unloading the cars and equipment into the Pit Garage was incredibly hard work, with still much preparation to do.

As part of the agreement 3 Spark brought its team members’ IT expertise to the pits to manage the race strategy and driver stints across three cars.

This is a very challenging race, with over 100 cars taking part over five different classes. The test is to succeed in your own class, whilst avoiding cars that are racing much faster than your own. All seven drivers banked their laps, qualifying P30 out of 34 cars in the C1 class. This class contains Belgian, Portuguese, Pro and UK spec cars, with the UK being the slowest of all four specs.

It was an epic battle to the end and every driver gave their all, to attain an unexpected and brilliant result.

The car with 3 Spark drivers 355 finished P12 overall and P2 in the UK sub class, winning a trophy and podium spot. Bring on Portimão 2023!

Second Snetterton Race 2 x 3hour and supporting EMAX at the Belgian SPA 24-hour race

The final race of the season was another visit to Snetterton for a double 3-hour race. Qualifying went well with James Taylor setting a 2.43.080 bringing the car up to P29 out of 55 cars, a great qualifying result considering the size of the grid. However, Nathan Hammond suffered an accident, causing significant damage to the near side front quarter bending the wishbone, snapping the drive shaft and damaging the steering rack.

This put the team out of race one finishing P50, but they did a great job of repairing the car and getting it ready for race two; even with a broken steering rack they attained an amazing P31.

At the close of the season, 3 Spark continued to offer its IT Services to EMAX motorsport at the Belgian SPA 24-hour race.

A look ahead to 2023

The season of 2023 has been a quiet one so far, with car damage in 2022 and the absence of two drivers, the 3 Spark team was busy readying the car and so missed the first few races. They were, however able to support EMAX again, this time at the Silverstone 24 Hour race, ensuring the drivers were prepped and ready for their stints and had the right strategies to maximise their track positions. At one point they looked like winning, finally finishing in P4 in what was an excellent race.

3 Spark is planning to compete at three races this year: Pembrey in September, which is a double 6-hour event; Snetterton in October, a double 3-hour event, and once again racing the 24hour at Portimão in November, where they aim to improve on last year’s success.

Learn more about C1 Racing at https://c1racing.club/

tlmNexus sponsored Kart 51 holds Top Novice at Llandow Race

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 10:57:03 GMT

RAF Waddington Vulcans Karting Team - Round 4 Results

Wednesday 21 ^st June saw the Vulcans team arrive at the Club HQ and load up for another race weekend. After an hour or so, all the karts and kit were secured and ready for the journey to South Wales. Thursday was an early start, leaving RAF Waddington at 0800 and arriving at Llandow Circuit in the afternoon. With the awnings built and kit unloaded, the team sorted the karts to be ready for Friday practice.

With Llandow being a popular track amongst the drivers, they were all keen to get going on Friday morning. The team set out on improving their karts setup throughout the day, using every practice session to fine tune them further. All karts looked to be strong, setting quick lap times, challenging our main rivals. With the practice day over and no major mechanical issues, the team was in a good place and ready for the two 2-hour endurance races on the Saturday.

Saturday morning began with the team arriving at the track early to check over the karts and make sure all nuts & bolts were checked and ready to go. After the final drivers brief from track marshals, it was time to go racing.

Qualifying for race 1 was a tough one for the team as a whole. A red flag was waved in the middle of the session after the engine of another team’s kart failed, dropping oil into the final turn. Although kart 50 qualified P8, the rest of the team had ground to make up in the race; kart 53, 52 and 51 qualifying in P20, P25 and P37 respectively.

The race began with 35 karts (2 non-starters) going into the first corner at high speed. Despite the tight and technical nature of the first series of corners, no issues occurred. The team made great progress, especially in kart 51 as they quickly found themselves inside the top 10 along with kart 50, and kart 52 making their way into the top 15. Unfortunately, kart 53 started to suffer with mechanical issues and dropped back, ending up in the pits for lengthy repairs. Then a red-flag incident involving kart 51 happened, ending up in the tyre wall on the high speed back straight. The driver was checked out by the circuit medics, receiving the all clear. The clock had run down to 25 minutes remaining before the race got back underway, with kart 50 in an excellent 3rd overall. It was a sprint to the finish, with kart 50 taking 3 ^rd overall and 1 ^st military. Kart 52 finished P22, kart 51 managed to keep going and despite dropping way back, finished P26. Kart 53 stopped with only minutes remaining due to a mechanical issue and finished P34.

It was a swift turn around for the second race of the day. The team had a great qualifying with karts 51, 50 and 52, starting in 8th, 9th and 11th respectively, unfortunately, a mechanical issue for the struggling 53 meant it started in 26th.

The race got underway with Vulcans karts retaining places inside the top 15, gaining and losing some positions as the first hour went on. The first round of pit stops went smoothly with a driver change for kart 50 and dummy stops for 51, 52 and 53. The team played strategy well, with fuel stops and driver changes for the other karts going smoothly. Into the second hour, issues started to arise with kart 52 having to make an unscheduled pit stop. The driver’s high-vis jacket had come loose and become trapped in the brake, losing valuable time and track position. With half an hour remaining, kart 53 found itself out of the race after a competitor spun in front of them and the resulting collision left them with a bent rear axle. As the chequered flag waved for our second and final race of the weekend, kart 51 crossed the line in a strong P6 overall and P3 military. Kart 50 finished in P11, kart 52 in P24, and kart 53 in P34 following their early exit.

Premier

Flt Lt Ling was hoping to extend his lead with Kart 51 in the Premier Novice Championship for the second half of the season. Testing day seemed to go well, however lap times only improved by around 0.3 of a second throughout the day. Thankfully, the other premier drivers were having similar experiences, so all seemed to be going well.

Onto race day, and a short final practice session to scrub in a brand new set of slick tyres, the second allowed for the season. Heat 1 started with Ling 9 ^th on the grid, making up a place on the first lap. Halfway through the race Ling was up to 5 ^th , holding position until the chequered flag.

Heat 2 started from 10 ^th , before Ling was forced to take to the grass whilst avoiding a spinning kart. Thankfully, he kept out of the barriers and was able to promptly restart, chasing down the field ahead. By lap 7 he had caught the back of the pack, pressing on to finish 6 ^th .

Problems emerged whilst attempting to start Heat 3. As the pack slowed before the rolling start, Ling’s engine struggled at low speed and cut out. Unable to get it restarted, he was forced to retire to the pit lane. After troubleshooting, the engine started successfully, just in time for the Final to start.

Ling started the Final 8 ^th on the grid, his chances of higher qualification lost with the disappointment of Heat 3. He just avoided a spinning kart on lap 1, making up a place to 7 ^th . An overtake for 6 ^th was made the next lap, followed by laps of close racing for 5 ^th . Using his straight-line speed advantage, he was able to make a move into the hairpin, securing 5 ^th for the finish.

Round 4 Results;

Race 1

Kart 50 - 3rd (1st Military)

Kart 51 - 26th (11 places gained from Qualifying)

Kart 52 - 22nd

Kart 53 - 34th

Race 2

Kart 50 - 11th

Kart 51 - 6th (3rd Military)

Kart 52 - 24th

Kart 53 - 34 ^th

Premier

Kart 51 – 5 ^th (Top Novice)

Some good results on a tough weekend overall in the Endurance category, picking up trophies in both races and bringing home plenty of points for our championship battle. In the Premier category, kart 51 remains 3 ^rd in the overall AFKC Premier Championship, leading the Novice competition by 74 points.

Our thanks go out to all those at RAF Waddington who support us with our racing; in particular the Stn PEd Flt, Accounts and MT. In addition, to our supporters tlmNexus, ICS and JP Racing. Next month’s race is our home round at Fulbeck, where we hope to gain some good results for the home crowd.

Pte Bailey Vernon-Higgs

Kart 53

RAF Waddington Kart Club

Distribution:

RAF Waddington Stn Cdr

RAF Waddington Media Officer

RAF Waddington PEd Flt

Text and photos courtesy of John Blondel and the Vulcans Karting Team

Information Management System for the Red Arrows

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 19:09:23 GMT

RAF Hawk TMk1 Information Management System

tlmNexus is soon to release its latest update to the asset life and fatigue monitoring information management system for the RAF’s Hawk T Mk 1 fleet. Initially delivered in April 2022, the system is used in support of the Hawk aircraft that are operated by the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows.

The Information Management System (IMS) was designed to collect a broad range of data from each aircraft sortie including flying hours, number of landings, aircraft configuration, engine performance data, fatigue meter readings, fuel contents, and data on component life usage.

Data is collected and analysed to determine how much fatigue the aircraft’s major components have consumed. This information is used by engineers to plan component maintenance and replacement effectively, using a suite of reports that show how much fatigue and usage each component is accruing over time against planned maintenance schedules for individual aircraft. Being web-based the IMS is accessible to authorised users across the MOD and industry, wherever they have a connection to the MOD network.

The latest update will deliver the capability to analyse data resulting from two additional sortie profiles used by the aircraft to meet additional operational requirements.

Breaking new ground for tlmNexus

The IMS differs from other tlmNexus’ solutions such as Resolve, which is tlmNexus’ most widely-used application providing support to military aircraft fleets. Unlike Resolve, which provides digitised processes that enable rapid, effective issue management and decision making, the IMS has been designed to be the primary tool for calculating the fatigue index for the major structural components on the aircraft and support the management of critical components and scheduled maintenance.

Top Novice Trophy for RAF Vulcan

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 10:42:36 GMT

A successful 3rd round means RAF Waddington Vulcans lead the Inter Station/Unit Championship

Wednesday 24 ^th May saw the team arrive at the club HQ at 1700 to load up for an exciting race weekend. After a few hours all vehicles had been loaded and the team all went home for a night of rest.

Thursday was an early start, leaving RAF Waddington at 0700 and arriving at Rye House at 1100 to set up our site for the next few days. With limited space this proved tricky, but we were soon set up and could get some practice out on track. After an afternoon of adjusting setups, the team gained track knowledge and confidence going into the weekend.

Friday arrived and the team set out on improving kart setup further to improve lap times. All Karts proved to be strong, setting quick lap times, and more importantly, quicker times than rival teams. With no mechanical issues the team was in a good place and ready for the 3 Hour endurance race that was ahead the following day. That evening the team delivered a talk to local Sea Cadets about the RAF Waddington Vulcans, in return for the accommodation they had kindly provided us. With an insight into the RAF and the sport, the cadets got hands on with one of the karts.

Saturday morning the team arrived at the track for 0730. After completing final nut & bolt checks, the team was ready to hit the track. After a final drivers brief from track marshals, it would soon be lights out and time to race. Qualifying produced some good results for karts 51 and 52, qualifying 7 ^th and 13 ^th respectively. It wasn’t so good for the other 3 karts, with 53 in 20 ^th , 54 in 22 ^nd and after Kart 50 experienced slight engine issues, they qualified last in 28 ^th place.

The race began with the roar of 28 karts going into the first corner at high speed. Surprisingly no issues occurred, but then in the second hairpin Kart 53 took a knock on the left front wheel resulting in a broken track rod. This resulted in 40 minutes of repairs, all but putting them out of the race. Karts 50 & 54 had the most success after the first few laps gaining valuable places early. After 45 minutes it was time for the team’s first set of pit stops. All driver changes went smoothly, and the second drivers soon settled into the race. An incident on track saw the Marshalls wave the Battenburg flag, meaning the pace slowed right down to clear the track of any debris and stricken karts. The race soon restarted, and it was soon time for refuelling and the second driver change. With all 5 karts needing to be refuelled within a 10-minute period it would need to be a slick process. The team effort saw everything go smoothly and the drivers could settle into the second half of the race. The high temperatures meant the physical exertion would soon get the better of some drivers and the team could slowly pick up more vital places. The rest of the race went smoothly and with 10 minutes remaining kart 51 was gaining a lap a second on the REME Kart ahead. With only a few minutes remaining they got past and managed to hold off for what we thought was going to be second place. The chequered flag was waved after a successful race for the team.

We then had an agonising wait for the result to be finalised and the trophy presentation to begin. After penalties had been calculated, it was announced that kart 51 had finished 3 ^rd overall, and 1 ^st military kart. This brought two pieces of silverware to the team collection, and scoring valuable points in the championship.

In the premier category, Flt Lt Ling was aiming to compete well in the Novice championship after good results in the first two rounds. Friday testing started well, until engine problems emerged. With the engine stuttering and becoming limited to 1500rpm below max on the main straight, the top speed was reduced. The afternoon turned into a troubleshooting process, trying to eliminate possible causes. Despite best efforts, the root cause couldn’t be located. Thankfully, the problem only occurred for a minimal section of the track, so could still be used for racing the following day.

Saturday morning began with a short practice session, before the first heat getting underway. Ling started at the back of the grid in 10 ^th , behind two fellow novices. Places were gradually made up over the 15 lap race, finishing in 7 ^th . After a short break, heat 2 was underway, starting from 9 ^th on the grid. A tangle into the third corner dropped Ling down to last place before fighting back through the field in a hotly contested race. After some penalties for dropped nosecones were applied, Ling was rewarded with a 6 ^th place finish. After a long break for the first prokart race, heat 3 began. After starting in 8 ^th , Ling made a poor start and dropped down to last place after the engine bogged down during the rolling start. After getting back up to speed, places were gained to finish the race in 6 ^th .

After making up places in all races, Ling was to start the Final in 7 ^th place, with both other novices closely behind. Up to 6 ^th on lap 4, Ling held position for the remainder of the race. Learning from mistakes in previous rounds, he opted to hold off attempting an overtake and instead retain the leading novice position. After a penalty was applied, Ling finished in 5 ^th and took the top novice trophy.

After round 3, Ling stands 3 ^rd in the overall Premier Armed Forces Championship, and leads the Novice Champs by 68 points. With half of the season remaining, he must continue to gain good results to stay on course for the Best Novice title.

Round 3 Results;

Endurance

Kart 50 – 11 ^th place (Gaining 17 places from qualifying)

Kart 51 – 3 ^rd Place (1 ^st Military)

Kart 52 – 20 ^th place (Given a 2-lap penalty for exceeding driver time)

Kart 53 – 27 ^th place (Didn’t finish last after missing most of the race)

Kart 54 – 13 ^th Place (Gained 9 places from qualifying)

Premier

Kart 51 – 5 ^th (Top Novice)

A successful 3 ^rd round means RAF Waddington Vulcans lead the Inter Station/Unit Championship by a thin margin of 2 points. Round 4 will see the Vulcans at Llandow Kart Circuit in South Wales, where we can hopefully build on the success so far.

I would like to thank our Sponsor TLM Nexus for their continued support throughout the season, which is helping support our current position in the championship.

Cpl Dan Holt

Kart 54 & Team Chef

RAF Waddington Kart Club

Round Two for RAF Waddington Vulcans Race Team

Fri, 26 May 2023 11:39:02 GMT

Race 2 of the 2023 Armed Forces Karting Championship

by John Blondel

Race 2 of the 2023 Armed Forces Karting Championship began with a 8 hour drive up to bonnie Scotland from RAF Waddington to RAF Lossiemouth, our home for the next 4 days. Setting off at around 10:30am and not arriving until 18:30. Thursday morning we left Lossie bright and early and headed to the track. Upon arrival we quickly began unpacking the 7.5T lorry and two 50/50 vans full of karts and equipment. The hasty erection of our miniature village meant that we had extra time on track in the afternoon to give karts and drivers a shake-down and first taste of the technical Boyndie circuit.

Friday, we had a rarity in Scotland this time of year, glorious sunshine, and a warm dry track. Making the most of it, all karts were quick to get out on track for a full day’s practice. With kart 50 missing one of its drivers, the TP decided to give the drivers of 53 and new arrival Liam the chance to jump into the hot seat with a bit of healthy competition of who can put down the fastest times in the kart. With 53’s driver Luke having brilliant pace and feeling at home in Kart 50, the TP chose him as his co-driver for the race weekend ahead. Once driver line-up had been finalised, it was all about chipping away at those lap-times and figuring out the best set up for the new track with all karts improving as the day progressed. Finding the fastest setup however seemed difficult to master due to the increasing temperature of the track throughout the day, especially when the weather predicted for the race wasn’t so pleasant.

Flt Lt Ling had great pace from the get-go on Friday, looking seriously quick considering not driven at Boyndie before and it being only his second race weekend in a premier kart, this gave him the confidence to push the kart and it only needing minor setup adjustments for the race on Saturday.

Saturday, Race Day Race 1

Unfortunately, an overcast and colder day compared to practice. We qualified strong considering with 52 starting in 4 ^th , 50 in 10 ^th , 53 in 12 ^th , 51 in 22 ^nd and 54 in 23 ^rd . Lights go out and racing begins with 53 having a blistering start off the line, overtaking 5 karts by the second corner moving them up into 7 ^th place. After the chaos of the start, the race settles down and the drivers get into a rhythm with all karts making up places throughout their stint. Rapid fuel stops and a tremendous effort from the pit crew pushing the karts down a lengthy pit lane, allowed us to maintain positions and even gain a few more places. With race one entering its final minutes, 52 managed to maintain position in 2 ^nd military until an unfortunate collision with Brize Norton kart 73 into the final hairpin, resulting in a damaged engine and them having to retire from the race. Luckily, down to a brilliant drive from 50, we finished with good points having climbed to 3 ^rd military and 53 finishing 9 ^th military. But all karts finished higher than qualifying, with 51 gaining an outstanding 8 places from their starting position and 54 in 17 ^th moving up by 6.

Race Day Race 2

Qualifying for race 2 didn’t go as well as race 1, possibly due to a sudden drop in track temperature. All karts starting further back than the previous qualifying. 52 – 10 ^th , 53 – 18 ^th , 50 – 19 ^th , 51 – 25 ^th and 54 in 30 ^th . Race 2 begins and all karts get through the first corner carnage unscathed settling down for the long race ahead. The drivers focused on consistency and slowly working their way through the pack, apart from 51 who charged their way through early on in the race bringing them into the top 10 by half way. With the pit strategy running a lot smoother second time around, all karts made gains thanks to the quick response to yellow flags and the rest of the field having to slow, reducing the damage of a pit stop. With only minor issues of contact and 50 being mounted by another kart, luckily all karts came home to see the chequered flag. Although not finishing in the top spots, it was still an epic drive by all drivers. Final race results; 52 – 8 ^th , 50 – 11 ^th , 51 making and impressive 13 places to finish in 12 ^th , 53 – 15 ^th and 54 in 25 ^th .

Flt Lt Ling’s weekend.

After a relatively successful first race in the Premier class, Flt Lt Ling was looking to gain more AFKC points at round 2. Due to the long trip to the Grampian Kart Club in Scotland, the usual 10-15 kart grid was reduced to just 5 entries. Ling would be starting all 3 heats from the back of the grid, owing to his novice status.

Heat 1 started well, gaining a place on the first lap and moving up to 3rd on lap 4. However, whilst pushing to close in on the kart ahead, Ling ran wide in turn 1 and got caught on the uneven kerbing, hooking the kart onto the grass and dropping back to last place. He re-joined and finished the race in 4th, with another kart suffering a mechanical issue.

Heat 2 saw two places gained on lap 2 when two karts came together going into turn 1. Ling moved up to 2nd on lap 7 with an overtake on the main straight, finishing closely behind the leader and taking the fastest lap in the process.

Heat 3 also started well, moving up to 4th in the chicane and gaining 3rd on lap 3. Ling moved up to 2nd on lap 4, and made a move for 1st a few laps later. The first overtake attempt didn’t stick, however another attempt the following lap proved successful. Ling kept the lead for the remaining 5 laps to win the heat and claim the fastest lap.

With progress made in all 3 heats, Ling would start the final on the front row in 2nd place. After a poor start, things got worse as he ran wide into the fast left hander, losing grip on the rear tyres and spinning onto the grass. After heaving the kart back onto the tarmac, he looked to make up the 26 second gap to the next kart ahead. During lap 4 an incident between 2 karts put one out of the race, and the other shown the Black flag, meaning disqualification. This put Ling in 3rd, now behind 2nd by 23 seconds. Fast laps were put in for the remainder of the race, finishing only 3 seconds behind 2nd.

Whilst a successful weekend with silverware for both 3rd place and Top Novice, disappointment was felt with the possibility of a better finish. The kart had strong pace all day, only let down by a couple of on-track mistakes by pushing too hard. With much learnt and some confidence gained, Ling goes into Round 3 at Rye House leading the Novice Championship by 60 points, and 3rd in the overall Premier Armed Forces Karting Championship.

Text and photo courtesy of John Blondel and the RAF Waddington Vulcans Race Kart Team

Courageous John continues Winter Olympics pursuit

Wed, 24 May 2023 14:45:32 GMT

An accident during a race at the end of 2022 has only made John Stanbridge more determined

We are proud to continue our sponsorship of John Stanbridge and Bob Team Stanbridge (Team GB Bobsleigh) for another season, in their journey to compete at the Winter Olympics in Milan/Cortina 2026.

We have long admired the grit of Team Captain and pilot, John Stanbridge, and since we last reported on his work, he has shown more courage and determination than ever, after an accident during a race in Altenberg at the end of 2022.

Injuries do not deter John Stanbridge

The crash resulted in a fractured vertebra and two ruptured discs in his neck. Just a few months on, John has been running and undertaking plyometric workouts, supported by the excellent facilities at Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre, Stanford Hall, adapting his training to ensure he can return to the sport he loves as soon as possible.

Although not able to compete as an athlete just yet, John has finished up the 2022/23 season coaching the RAF squad at the Littlehammer UKAF WSA Inter Service Ice Championships, supporting his teammate, Alex Cartagena to transition to the pilot seat.

Next for the team is the European Cup/North American cup season where they plan to build on the progress made in the 4-man discipline at the start of the year and their continued progression in the 2-man competitions.

Championship Bobsleigh success is raising awareness and offering more value for sponsors

Bobsleigh as a sport has had the highest level of coverage ever this year, due to the successes of the World cup crew under Brad Hall securing Gold at the European Championships, and Silver at the World Championships.

With this success, Bob Team Stanbridge hope that UK Sport will commit to greater funding to the federation and for some funds to filter down to the European Cup teams and their future development.

John Stanbridge combines his career as an Aircraft Avionics Engineer in the RAF, with his work for Team GB Bobsleigh, where he also takes responsibility for raising the funding needed to train and compete. tlmNexus is pleased in the meantime to be able to provide some much-needed financial support to the team.

For more information contact https://www.thebbsa.co.uk/the-team/directory/john-stanbridge

RAF Waddington Vulcans Kart Team - First Race Weekend 2023

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 08:39:59 GMT

As sponsors of RAF Waddington Vulcans Kart Team, AFKC Station Champions 2022, tlmNexus are pleased to share the exciting race report from the first race weekend of 2023.

Words and photo courtesy of John Blondel:

The first race weekend of the 2023 season started off with a long 6-hour drive from RAF Waddington to Clay Pigeon Racetrack in Dorchester, arriving at an already packed race paddock at around 3pm. The team quickly jumped into action building our four-awning city and unpacking the 7.5T lorry load of karts and equipment, a task that was completed within the hour. Once set up, the team were then straight into preparing the karts ready for the following mornings testing sessions. As the karts had been left throughout the winter there was a fair bit of prep that needed to be completed, evening quickly came, and all 5 karts were set up and ready for the next morning. Our resident racer/chef was also on hand to cook a nice healthy curry, a meal fit for royalty.

Day two started off slightly damp but dry enough for the teams to practice on slick tyres. Within the first hour the track had dried up nicely and the sun had started to shine. Practice went well with all karts with lap times getting quicker by the minute, however kart 54 took some damage to the frame before lunch. It was out of action for the rest of the day whilst the two drivers, Flt Lt Jones and Cpl Holt set about completing a full chassis swop with the spare. All parts required swopping from one chassis to another and then requiring a full rebuild with no time to test this new setup. For our premier driver, Flt Lt Ling, Friday practice went well, seeing him tweaking his kart and gaining an edge over the other 2 stroke racers. He was fully prepped for his first competitive meet the next day.

Day three, Race Day, started off slightly wet with qualifying being the first stint of the day. Unluckily, kart 54 had a fuel issue, causing them to qualify last, however karts 50 - 53 all had strong qualifiers. In a grid of 39 karts, we were placed: 50 P6, 51 P24, 52 P7, 53 P28 and 54 P39. The weather gods were on our side for the first race and the track was nice and dry. This allowed all Vulcans drivers’ confidence to push hard and outpace the majority of the pack. After 25 minutes the team came together to pull off some extremely slick pit stops, with kart 54 requiring a new chain guard fitting. Shortly after all karts had pitted, the race was red flagged due to a driver collision which required medics to enter the track to tend to one racer who luckily, only suffered minor injuries. The race reset and after a further 15 minutes and during our second round of mandatory stops, a second red flag halted the race. This time an Army kart came off track and the driver required medical attention. The driver avoided serious injury and was released with a badly sprained ankle. With time running short, the race director then decided to end the race without restarting.. A bumpy start to the first race of the season saw the Vulcans finish 6th, 7th, 13th, 23rd & 33rd out of 39. This translated into 3 ^rd , 4 ^th , 9 ^th , 17 ^th and 24 ^th Military and 45 points out of a possible 50.

The team then had a four-hour break until the next race, giving them time to fettle with the karts and make any much-needed mechanical repair. Race two qualifying came around and the rain had really started to hammer down, pushing all teams in to switch to wet tyres and change into rain proof coveralls. A slippery start to qualifying saw Kart 53 proves it had a great setup in the Wet and as such saw them set a quick time putting them 6 ^th on the grid for the race. Things didn’t go so well for kart 50. After the first half lap of qualifying, the right engine started to play up. After pitting and thinking it was fixed, it went out again only to return after 2 laps with the same issue. Another quick check over didn’t identify the issue, so it was sent out to finish the session. 50 still managed to qualify 24 ^th . This race saw 40 karts line up with the Vulcans placing: 50 P24, 51 P9, 52 P10, 53 P6 and 54 P29. Shortly after qualifying, the karts were all lined up on the grid and the starting lights set to start a very wet race. All Vulcan karts started off very strong, seeing several of them gaining places in the first few laps. However, within minutes, kart 50 started to splutter. The driver came into the pits and the team quickly set about trying to diagnose the fault. After a few minutes the team had the spark plugs out to reset the gaps and had re-terminated the kill switch wires but unfortunately, the engines continued to run rough. The driver/Team Principle made the call to retire the kart to prevent any further damage. Shortly after, kart 54 then made an unscheduled pit stop, complaining of the same rough running issue. This time, the kart was quickly inspected, and the cause being put down to damp conditions and sent back out to race, however after two thirds of the way in, the kart once again began to run rough, so the driver decided to pit the kart to prevent any further damage. Although the Vulcans saw two DNF's in the second race the remainder of the karts all pushed through and completed the race in 6th, 9th and 10th out of 39, bringing home four trophies. This translated into, 1 ^st , 2 ^nd and 6 ^th Military and 50 points out of a possible 50. Overall, a cracking weekend seeing the Vulcans leading the Military standings.

Flt Lt Ling started race day in his Premier kart at the back of the grid in heat one of three and after a cautious start, Ling made up places and was up to 9 ^th by lap 3. A further two places were made up seeing him crossing the line side by side to take 7 ^th by just 0.052 seconds! Heat 2 also started well, with Ling starting 11 ^th and making a place on the first lap. After some mechanical issues for 2 other karts, he was up to 8 ^th place and closing in on two karts battling ahead. Approaching the hairpin, he was unseen by another kart and was forced to take avoiding action onto the grass. After hitting the tyre wall and luckily avoiding damage, the kart was dragged back onto the circuit and restarted. This dropped him back to 10 ^th , where he finished the race. Whilst awaiting Heat 3, the heavens opened, and all eyes focused on quickly changing the kart to wet tyres and setup. Ling started in 10 ^th and had moved up to 8 ^th position on lap 3. Two laps later progress had been made to 6 ^th , and 5 ^th was achieved on lap 8. This was short lived, with Ling having a spin into the hairpin and dropping down to 7 ^th . The ground couldn’t be regained in the wet conditions, remaining in 7 ^th for the chequered flag.

With places made across all 3 heats, Ling started the final in 8th place. The wet conditions had remained, with standing water producing spray and poor visibility whenever trying to follow a competitor closely. After karts suffered from the lack of grip and mechanical issues, Ling placed in 6th on lap 3. Yet again, the wet conditions proved too tricky, with a small spin into turn 1 dropping Ling down to 9th, his final finishing position. Round 1 proved relatively successful for Ling, with valuable wet racing experience gained and successfully finishing all 4 races. He goes into round 2 leading the Novice Championship by 2 points, 9th in the Overall Championship, and hoping to improve next month at Boyndie circuit in Scotland.

tlmNexus continues sponsorship of the Arkwright Engineering Awards

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 09:42:24 GMT

tlmNexus are proud to sponsor Arkwright students on an annual basis. On 28th October 2022, sponsors, scholars and their parents were finally able to meet again in person, the first time since the pandemic started, at the Arkwright Award Ceremony in London. The ceremony was held in the iconic Institute of Engineering and Technology in Savoy Place. Emma Wade, our Head of HR, represented us at the ceremony, seen pictured with this year’s sponsored scholar Alex Ralph.

The ceremony was extremely well organised. The speakers Air Commodore Tony Keeling from the RAF, Eliane Algaard, Operations Director at SSEN, and Chris Wilson, Director of Development at IMEC and 2000 Arkwright alumni, were entertaining and inspirational. The most amazing part of the day was listening to the incredible achievements that the scholars had already achieved by age 16 and the phenomenal passion they show in their projects and ambitions.

Alex has an interest in software development and engineering and already being a member of the Combined Cadet Force made him a perfect candidate for us to sponsor and support. We look forward to inviting Alex to Brighton to meet the software development team and understand more about how we design our digital solutions. He will also join a member of the Customer Integration Team on an RAF base to understand how the software supports our customers.

tlmNexus sponsors RAFSA's Brady Trophy 2022

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 11:49:39 GMT

tlmNexus Customer Integration Engineer, Steve Harvey had the pleasure of attending the RAFSA Dinghy Championships dinner at Rutland Sailing Club recently and presenting the prizes, including the tlmNexus' sponsored Brady Trophy, which was first won in 1949.

The event took place between 12-14th October 2022 at Rutland Sailing Club near RAF Wittering and was open to all with an interest in dinghy sailing. This year 9 entries took part with several newcomers attending.

The races were hotly contested throughout the fleet and the top RAF sailors were battling it out. Veteran sailor Kev O’Brien, sailing with newcomer Katie Ellis, was defending his 3 times ‘Brady Champion’ title, but young gun sailors Ben Hawkes (RAF Marham) and Jonny McVey (RAF Brize Norton) started the regatta in a commanding position. However their position was always at threat by Kyle Hurst and Elliot Jones who were always pushing at the top of fleet. After two days racing, Ben Hawkes and Jonny McVey took the ‘Brady Championships’ crown, pictured here with Steve Harvey and Kev O'Brien.

With thanks to Race Officer Steve Bales and all the team for making Steve Harvey so welcome.

Marketing and events news

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 08:41:45 GMT

The tlmNexus Marketing and Business Development teams are often out and about with the aim of promoting our capabilities and solutions to our core defence market.

The primary aim of attending and supporting events is to reinforce the association of the tlmNexus brand and our experience and capabilities with existing and potential customers. We now have a regular calendar of events at which our repeated attendance goes with our established position in the industry.

It’s been a tricky time building and maintaining business relationships over the last 24 months, so it’s never been more important to capitalise on any opportunity for face-to-face interactions with clients – phone calls and emails are no substitute for ‘IRL’ (In Real Life).

Here’s a look at the events that we’ve been at over the past year:

The Three Counties Defence and Security Expo, or 3CDSE

This is a showcase of innovative defence and security SMEs, putting these SMEs in front of government and military equipment procurement staff and major defence companies. The show is held at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern, Worcestershire. Over 1600 delegates and 130 exhibitors took part in the November 2021 event, including ourselves……..and we’re a Silver Sponsor for the 2022 event which means that our brand will be even more in the spotlight!

Tech Data World Live (TDW-Live)

A three-day integrated product support (IPS) conference held in November near Bristol, this event attracts a good turnout of MOD staff from DE&S at Abbey Wood. The conference featured expert IPS practitioners from the UK and overseas, including speakers from both MOD and industry, to discuss the new S-Series specifications for product support and how the benefits of emerging technologies such as digital twins can be leveraged. Being an event sponsor, we got the chance to deliver a presentation as part of the proceedings.

Our membership of the Team Defence Information trade association provides visibility of events that are focussed on the defence Information Systems domain. The first event of 2022 was the Support Chain Seminar held in January at the Bristol Aerospace Museum in Filton. This event focused on the support that Industry Partners provide to their MOD Customers in the context of Integrated Product Support (IPS) within the ‘Digital Age’. Well attended by senior figures from MOD and Industry our position under the fuselage of Concorde gave us the opportunity to try out our new exhibition stand that puts more emphasis on our digital capabilities. Keynote speakers from a diverse range of leaders, innovators and subject matter experts briefed their audience on a whole range of topics. Most notably AI, Augmented Reality and Multi Domain Integration (MDI), all in the context of IPS.

We’ve been a regular sponsor of the SMI Defence Aviation safety conference over the years. Held at the Copthorne Tara Hotel in Kensington in April, the conference attracts an international audience of defence military and civilian personnel, ranging from operational to engineering, who gather to share their organisations’ approaches to managing aviation safety.

Organised by the Defence Support Organisation in Strategic Command and supported by Team Defence Info, SupportNET 22 was hosted by Lt Gen Richard Wardlaw – Chief of Defence Logistics and Support (CDLS) and Air Cdre Ange Baker – Head of Force Development, Sustainability and People in Defence Support. There were some insightful presentations covering platform and equipment availability and the development of superior, assured, environmentally friendly and cost-effective logistic services to deliver support advantage (better availability, more of the time, and possessing more resilient supply chains). Key themes throughout the presentations were on Net Zero and carbon reduction to provide a sustainable support advantage. This supports the BD carbon profile opportunity as sustainability and Net Zero were a key part of the Support Advantage Industry Charter, that was signed at the end of day one and will influence all future MOD procurements.

The Defence Procurement Research Technology Exportability ( DPRTE ) 2022 event was held at the Farnborough exhibition centre in May. DPRTE is a well-established trade show that provides an opportunity for buyers to meet suppliers who are delivering innovative products and services so this is a great environment for us to show our brand. Being within reasonable travelling distance of Brighton it also provided an opportunity for some of the commercial team to experience the atmosphere of a defence trade event.

Not only that, we were sought out by Hellios who manage the Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register ( JOSCAR ) and who presented us with our certificate of accreditation.

Defence Information 22 ( DI22 ) took place in June although we only had an online presence at this event. Still, it was good for our logo to be seen among names such as Google, IBM, Salesforce and Fujitsu. Run by the Defence Digital organisation and supported by Team Defence Info the programme addressed the subject of ‘Mobilising the Defence Digital Backbone’ with a keynote presentation from the Defence CIO, Charlie Forte.

In July we joined Whitetree, Occam Group and Reuleaux for an evening networking event on the SS Great Britain in Bristol docks. The event attracted a good turnout from MOD personnel at Abbey Wood, including several of our own customers and it was good to have the opportunity to meet face-to-face once again.

Between 21st – 22nd September, we exhibited at DVD 2022 . DVD is a biennial Defence industry exhibition staged at the UTAC Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire that enables focussed engagement between Defence industry, DE&S Delivery Teams, Army HQ staff and other Defence community users of Land Equipment.

On our stand, we demonstrated a version of our Damage and Repair Tracker (DaRT), used by several DE&S Air Platforms including those in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) and Typhoon, which had been configured to show the Challenger 2 tank.

tlmNexus' G-Cloud and Digital Outcomes Success

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 15:28:58 GMT

tlmNexus has been a successful applicant in supplying through both G-Cloud 13 and Digital Outcomes 6. The launch of G-Cloud 13 has been delayed until 9th November and Digital Outcomes 6 has been delayed until later in the year, so we are going to have to wait a little longer before we can supply our through life management toolkits and digital transformation services through the new frameworks. Fortunately our services can still be procured through the existing G-Cloud 12 and DOS 5 frameworks which have both been extended.

tlmNexus Damage and Repair Tracker (DaRT) application service goes live with the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 14:05:12 GMT

The tlmNexus Customer Experience team has installed, and is now supporting the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (RAF BBMF) Damage and Repair Tracker (DaRT), achieving exceptional levels of customer satisfaction and success.

Insight to RAF BBMF DaRT contract and client engagement

The BBMF mission requires it to operate its priceless fleet of iconic military aircraft safely throughout the UK, between May and September each year. Maintaining airworthiness of aircraft that were designed and built over 75 years ago, is a significant engineering and management challenge, especially given their frequent participation in the most public national events such as Trooping the Colour.

Whilst BBMF aircraft now fly sorties at a significantly lower stress level than originally designed for, like all aircraft they remain susceptible to damage resulting from ‘wear and tear’, such as taxiing, take-off and landing. And, though more serious events such as bird-strike, collision in the hangar or dispersal area are less likely, whenever they do occur it is essential that all damage, repair and outcomes are accurately captured, recorded, actioned and archived for the life-time of each aircraft.

What does DaRT do and why is it a game changer

In 2021 MOD DE&S awarded tlmNexus a contract, to augment RAF BBMF’s paper-based damage and repair management processes with a web-enabled management system. Initially, this would support the BBMF Spitfire aircraft, before being rolled across the Lancaster, Hurricane and remainder of the BBMF aircraft fleet.

The Company’s answer was to implement its well proven DaRT system; this had already been operational with Eurofighter Typhoon since 2018, was fully compliant with MOD security standards and approved to operate on the MOD network.

As well as providing a ‘one-time entry’, paper-free assurance and audit trail for all damage and repair, DaRT has a wide range of additional capabilities that previously would have required the user to have multiple and fully coordinated management systems. The DaRT system fully supports operational availability and readiness, production of airworthiness reports, safety assessments and trend analysis, and is compliant with Military Aviation Authority (MAA) audit and UK national archiving standards.

These in-built capabilities not only reduce the reliance on paper-based processes, they also provide the MOD and RAF with the potential for improved use of scarce specialist management and engineering resources, while significantly improving the safety and assurance levels across all elements of the BBMF and its associated support systems.

DaRT rollout plan for BBMF

Ahead of the rollout of DaRT to BBMF, the Customer Experience team completed a ‘lessons learned’ review of the Eurofighter Typhoon rollout, which highlighted the benefit of integrating a bespoke customer success plan into the onboarding process. The BBMF customer success plan set out specific outcomes and benefits, supported by a roadmap with defined milestones, success criteria and measures of success.

While an initial objective of the plan was to reduce the time to achieve the first identification of recorded damage by BBMF operators, and thereby quickly build user confidence in the DaRT system, BBMF very much welcomed the Customer Success team’s approach and recognised the longer-term value and benefits of defined and measurable outcomes, and of tracking these on a regular basis. The plan included a traffic light review process that tracked BBMF progress against agreed customer health criteria with targets for individual BBMF health criteria up to one year in the future. This was very much a jointly developed and agreed delivery strategy and a ‘one-team’ approach.

What are the key benefits of DaRT and the Customer Success plan to BBMF

The successful rollout of DaRT to BBMF has identified a broad range of benefits with the most significant being safety-focused.

While DaRT has not fully replaced the RAF’s paper-based management processes, the DaRT system is quickly able to capture and accurately file detailed legacy data and link it to the latest platform status. The import of legacy data for BBMF platforms, many of which have been operating for over 60 years, is not a trivial undertaking, so the decision was taken to restrict legacy data to that originating from the last Major/Depth servicing to present. The import of legacy data is a ongoing project.

The collection, analysis and import of this legacy data will significantly contribute to improved airworthiness assurance and structural integrity for individual aircraft. At the DaRT system operator level, remote user operation is enabled by login secure access with data secured and backed up on the MOD network. Data can be managed and analysed by multiple remote users, a significant benefit during this recent period of COVID, and can be made available to all critical stakeholders to support air operation and other management decisions.

DaRT’s capability to combine legacy and current data to inform platform-focused trend analysis has also resulted in improved damage prevention and the provision of accurate, assured data to support intelligence-based decision making, focused on safety of operation, and minimising the risk to life. Looking ahead, it seems likely the RAF and BBMF will gain operational and financial benefits from DaRT, given its potential for significantly reducing the use of paper-based processes.

In conclusion, the rollout of DaRT by tlmNexus to BBMF is a highly positive story that clearly demonstrates what can be achieved when the Company and the client agree a ‘one-team’, success-focused approach. The determination of the Customer Experience team to learn the lessons from earlier DaRT contracts resulted in the development of a rollout strategy and plan that fully addressed the BBMF’s technical requirements and their user expectations. The resultant Customer Success plan and the agreement with BBMF as to how the rollout should be measured against challenging metrics and reviews, sets a high-quality benchmark for our competitors, while confirming that tlmNexus continues to honour its role as a recipient of the Queen’s Award to Industry.

Photos credit: Andy Peacock

Bob team Stanbridge battles against the best on ice

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 16:06:19 GMT

John Stanbridge, Pilot and Team Captain gives a round up of the latest season for Team GB Bobsleigh, sponsored by tlmNexus

"Building on our successful debut season last year for GB we had our sights set on further development and maximising as much ice time as possible. Our goal this season was to try and secure a top 10 finish and remain within the top 20 in every single race. Our original plan for the 2021/2022 European Cup season was to secure 12 weeks on ice and part take in five 2-man races and make our debut in the double 4-man race at Innsbruck, Austria.

However, things don’t always go to plan and we had to resort to Plan B. A familiar track in Germany was removed from the calendar for this season due to a flooding disaster and with the Beijing Olympics just around the corner, nations and teams were booking up ice time quicker than ever. Athlete availability and covid restrictions were just another challenge for us to overcome. Our revised plan brought us down to 8 weeks of ice time and 4 European 2-man races with an introduction to 4-man sliding scheduled at the end of the season.

We began our schedule in Norway with a Double European cup race in Lillehammer, home of the Olympic games in 1994. A prestigious track for us to learn and a hell of a long way to get there, a 3000mile round trip to be exact. The absence of last season's Brakeman Alex Cortes-Tankard because of work commitments saw 21-year-old Rookie brakeman Joshua Hudson step up. Coming from a rugby background, Hudson impressed with his natural strength and positive attitude as a rookie. Before the official IBSF race week started, we scheduled a week of training on the track to get to grips with our race lines. Building up from the lower start on day one to sprinting off the top by day 3. Progress is key, and this season we had the pleasure of working with GB four man bronze medallist Sean Olsson, whose expertise and coaching skills put us in an excellent position ahead of our race in November. Our preparation the week before paid off as we grabbed a PB 12th in our first race of the season followed by a 14th a day later. After a late draw of 21st, Josh did an amazing job of pushing for his debut race. We also outdrove more experienced pilots and better starters in the competition. The fact that we achieved a PB at a brand-new track really demonstrated how hard work has paid off over the summer months and we are on the right path.

After a few weeks back in the UK, I then travelled to La Plagne, France to support the RAF Bobsleigh squad during a training novice week. This is a new track to me, and I would be able to gain more exposure and development as I strive to become a World Cup pilot in the future. While it's never easy to learn a new track, my experience in Lillehammer helped me to quickly adapt to the French track. I had the opportunity to give back by sliding with the RAF as many of the RAF athletes were experiencing their first time on ice and in a bobsleigh. Taking an athlete down for the first time at 125kph is one hell of a rollercoaster and being able to pass on my knowledge and insight of the sport, displaying what is achievable at a grass roots level was an amazing experience.

As the World Cup event was moved to Innsbruck, Austria, our plan to step into a 4-man before Christmas was not possible. Due to this, our Christmas holiday was cut short and we travelled to Innsbruck late on Boxing Day. Recent changes in Covid guidelines and border restrictions meant we had to book Covid tests to ensure we were prepared to travel. Our preparation paid off as we arrived without any issues apart from an impromptu stop by the German police en-route. After a successful 16 ^th place result here last year we followed the same format and began sliding earlier than the competition gaining an extra 14 runs on ice before the race week started on the 3 ^rd Jan. We also recruited in RAF 60m/100m track athlete Michael Measter who had just returned from a training camp in USA. Innsbruck is a relatively easy track to get down and not overly technical, it is the place where many pilots start their career including myself. Because of this the start is very important and bringing in Michael created some healthy competition for the race spot and gave us the best chance of a strong result. Heading into the race week we were certainly prepared, the field had swelled with many smaller nations arriving from the North Americas cup and world cup crews dropping down from the world cup to secure points for Olympic qualification. In our toughest race to date we managed to walk away with a top 20 ^th place in a field of 40, Michael was successful in making his GB debut and gave us the best shot possible, however he’s not exactly built for bobsleigh and only weighing 80kg it meant we were pushing the heaviest bobsleigh on circuit at 205kg. The challenges of balancing weight and start times is always difficult but our confidence on track prevailed as we drove ourselves to that top 20 spot and in the mix with the 11 world cup crews who showed up. A great start for Bob Team Stanbridge in 2022 and showing that even with a deficient start we can perform on track.

A short 9-hour journey later we arrived for our last race of the season in Winterberg, Germany. After last season’s results of 30 ^th & 32 ^nd place I knew that if we applied ourselves and used the experience that we gained this year a better result was on the cards. We couldn’t apply the same format here like the other tracks this season to train prior due to track availability.

It’s always nerve racking returning to a track where you’ve crashed at before, Winterberg has a habit of biting back if you’re not on your game 100% of the time. Limited to just 7 runs on ice before the race could commence the stakes were high and we came through to tame the track that caused us an issue the year before. We were fortunate to get a great start draw and start as the first sled off, this meant that the ice would be clean. With Joshua Hudson pushing the sled to a reasonable time we came down in 21 ^st place and 0.05 hundredths of a second outside the top 20. 3 tenths separated 12 ^th -21 ^st in what was another heavy field of world cup and Olympic crews.

Although our race season has finished this year our training and preparation begins for next season as we travel out to Innsbruck, Austria in February. Taking the next step as a team to start 4-man training! 4-man can be described as the Ferrari of the bobsleigh world and poses an even greater challenge to master. The increased weight and choreography needed to put 4 100kg athletes in a sled at speed requires a strong team bond and familiarity. With extra weight comes extra speed and these larger sleds travel around a second quicker and up to 10kph faster than their smaller 2-man counterpart.

It’s important that we recognise our achievements of what has been a flexible and very successful season. Our results show that we are on the right path and have progressed dramatically, securing PB’s placements and times at every track against Olympic and world cup crews.

With the right financial support and progression, I know that we are on the right path to develop further as a team. The introduction of 4-man sliding will further increase our skillset as we look to push towards securing Top 10 results consistently in the European Cup next season and challenge for a World Cup spot for Great Britain next year.

As ever, the support from our sponsors has been vital to our success. Without the expertise of Acres engineering and the repairs KS Composites/SHD Composites carried out, our sled wouldn’t have been ready for competition. The fresh support from Catalyze consulting and continued support from tlmNexus, Matrix power and Nova Express ensured that we remained on ice. Becoming an ambassador for IASTI has opened doors for STEM opportunities and has enabled us as a team to help promote engineering and inspire future generations through sport. The equipment provided by UK Supreme fitness has helped our team maintain performance whilst out on the road and Chris at Move Improve managed to prevent our bodies from breaking down."

Bob team Stanbridge members are Team Captain/Pilot: John Stanbridge, Brakemen: Joshua Hudson, Michael Measter and Jack Heslop

Pictured are John Stanbridge with the sled; John Stanbridge and Josh Hudson at the start of the track; an aerial view of the track in Winterberg

tlmNexus sponsors RAF Dinghy Sailing Championships 2021

Thu, 25 Nov 2021 11:47:24 GMT

From: RAF Sailing Association (RAFSA)

The RAF Dinghy Sailing Championships, the Brady Trophy, was held at Rutland Sailing Club on 13 – 15 Oct 2021 under the sponsorship of tlmNexus. The Event was contested by 18 members of the RAF Sailing Association (RAFSA) in RS2000 boats over 8 races in a range of wind conditions.

Race 1 in a light air saw family team Flt Lt Simon Greenhalgh and his son Ben take a decisive win. In building winds, Race 2 was won by Sgt Kev O’Brien and Sqn Ldr Jonny Hynes, the reigning Brady Trophy champions. As the wind weakened in the afternoon, Simon and Ben Greenhalgh were dominant, winning Races 3 and 4 to secure a comfortable overnight lead.

Day 2 started with stronger winds, favouring the experienced crews, seeing Kev O’Brien and Jonny Hynes win Races 5 and 6 to level the Championships. The battle for third place was also competitive with veterans Andy Dring and Simon Laken trading places with previous champions Chf Tech Andy Rodwell and FS Paul Wilson. As the wind then began to fade, Ben and Simon under pressure delivered a steely performance to win both Races 7 and 8 and secure the championship.

The RAF Dinghy Sailing Championships was signed off with a fantastic prizegiving dinner hosted by Rutland Sailing Club. Although regatta winners, Ben and Simon Greenhalgh did not qualify for the Brady Trophy as that requires both helm and crew to be serving in the RAF. That accolade went to second placed Kev O’Brien and Jonny Hynes, who are to be congratulated on a third straight Brady Trophy win.

The RAF Dinghy Sailing Championships, The Brady Trophy - 2021 Prize Winners :

1st place - Ben Greenhalgh/Flt Lt Simon Geenhalgh, RAF Valley
2nd place - Sgt Kev O'Brien/Sqn Ldr Jonny Hayes, RAF Cosford
3rd place - Andy Dring/Simon Laken, RAF Rutland SC
4th place - CT Andy Rodwell/FS Paul Wilson, RAF Odiham
Novice - James Marrs/William Collins, RAF Grafham SCT

RAFSA is extremely grateful to everybody who has supported the Event, our outstanding Safety Boat Crews, led by WO Duncan Cooper; the dedicated Rutland Support Team, led by Tony Barmby and Neil Wilkinson; and our supremely efficient Race Officer, Steve Bales. RAFSA would like to thank our generous sponsors, tlmNexus, their support is hugely appreciated, enabling some fantastic prizes to be awarded and complimentary drinks to be served at the prize giving (resulting in the loudest cheer of the week)!

Pictured top L-R are Brady Trophy winners: Sgt Kev O'Brien, Race Officer. Mr Steve Bales and Sqn Ldr Jonny Hynes

Photos credit Mr Neil Wilkinson

Three Counties Defence and Security Expo (3CDSE)

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 15:19:11 GMT

tlmNexus colleagues Dave Kilbride, Sarah Jackson and Chris McMullan had a very successful day exhibiting at 3CDSE.

3CDSE is a unique showcase for this hub of innovation to share new ideas and host those involved in the industry nationally and internationally on their “home turf”. The show, which had been postponed from July, brings together senior military leading forces development and procurement, senior police engaged in the fight against cyber-crime, the intelligence and security agencies, and the industry innovators who supply them, to identify future strategies and needs.

ISO 9001 and 27001

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 14:01:13 GMT

tlmNexus completes another annual ISO9001 and 27001 audit

In September 2021, tlmNexus successfully completed another annual ISO9001 and 27001 audit by ISOQAR Alcumus. Our continued certification demonstrates our compliance with these standards and tlmNexus is fully committed to upholding their principles of continuous improvement, management review and customer success, driving efficiency and effectiveness, while monitoring and managing quality and information security levels across the whole business landscape.

JOSCAR re-accreditation

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 10:44:30 GMT

tlmNexus achieves re-accreditation as an Approved Supplier on the JOSCAR system

tlmNexus is pleased to be re-accredited as an Approved Supplier on the JOSCAR accreditation and compliance system. Our customers using JOSCAR can be assured that we are a supplier who is “fit for business” and we are proud to have held this certificate for the last 2 years. A great team effort!

Competitive Bobsleighing by military athletes is about more than sport

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 09:26:48 GMT

Being an RAF aircraft engineer requires a great deal of skill and experience, and attracts considerable respect in its own right. Last year, one such engineer took on an extraordinary additional challenge: the leadership of a GBR Bobsleigh development team with hopes to compete for medals in 2026.

John Stanbridge takes us behind the scenes of GBR Bobsleigh, shares what it’s like to pilot a sled, and gives an insight into the financial and administrative juggling that’s all part of the job.

About British Bobsleigh

The British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association (BBSA) is the sport’s governing body here in the UK, and its development squad is made up of four development teams ; three male and one female. Not all athletes are military, but for those that are, whilst they are released from their military duties to train and compete, they nonetheless have to use their spare time to attract funding, as none is available from elsewhere.

“A number of supportive companies such as tlmNexus, are helping to fund our team, which includes buying equipment,” says John. “We are currently aiming for a newer two-man sled, and will then be working towards a four-man team later this year.”

Travel is also a necessary cost, as John explains.

“You can only do Bobsleigh on the ice, and there are no tracks in the UK. This means we have to travel to Europe or North America to do the main training. Off-season we concentrate on working in the gym, sprinting etc. We also practice on track in Bath, which simulates pushing a sled 45-50 metres so we can practice jumping in.”

An insight into two-man and four-man runs

This means 50 seconds of total concentration in order to stay alive. With the current two-man sled, John jumps in first, followed by his brakeman. When they’re both in, they can relax to a certain extent, and focus on the track and finding the fastest route down. They attain speeds of 80-85 mph, before they reach the end of the track and the brake [JS1] man stops the sled.

It is very mentally and physically draining, and the team mates base their training on the performance in a competition, so that they are drilled in how to do well under pressure.

When the Bobsleigh team advances to a four-man team, it will be an even greater challenge. As the team pilot, John must coordinate everyone to travel the same distance.

“It’s like choreography on ice,” he says. “My job is to steer the sled so that we make as few adjustments as possible round bends, because that puts us on the fastest line. The second and third team members lie as low as possible, and the fourth person stops the sled.

“If I steer too much, we cut into the ice and slow down. If I don’t steer enough, we can lose control. The wrong steer means the wrong pressure and that can lead to a crash.”

A crash is like being in a washing machine

John describes crashing in a Bobsleigh ‘like being in a washing machine with a massive load on top of you’. A typical four-man sled with its crew weighs up to 1,389 lbs, so it’s not good. John continues, “It can cause ice burns and concussion. Despite this, statistically it is not a dangerous sport. I’ve been more injured playing football when I was younger, than I ever have in a sled.”

The history of Bobsleighing is fascinating, with the first club being founded in St. Moritz, Switzerland in 1897, and a first Winter Olympic appearance at the inaugural Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France in 1924; more can be found here https://www.ibsf.org/en/our-sports/bobsleigh-history

John says Team GBR were involved from the start, and in recent years, the UK Skeleton team has attracted funding for the last few Olympics, as their teams have won gold, silver and bronze.

Through the military, today’s GBR Bobsleigh competitors have to win the opportunity to get involved, through challenges such as one week’s adventure training. “Any pilot or military person can take part,” explains John. “They use it as a way of pushing you outside your comfort zone, so that when you go back to work things like paperwork are no longer such a worry.”

“As an athlete, Bobsleighing is a bit crazy. There are not many sports where you crash, and then get straight back into the craft. You have to be quite resilient to bruises and worse, which is why military personnel do so well because it’s drilled into us.”

John’s Bobsleigh career began after achieving representative level in the RAF, and after the required rigorous physical testing and proven experience piloting a sled , he made selection for GB Development squad. He then spent a season in North America with the New Zealand team as a brakeman, before stepping back into his more suited role as the pilot in the sled, and leadership of the GBR team last year.

As with most areas of life, the new Covid legislation hit hard with restrictions on travel, compounded by Brexit. The costs of running a Bobsleigh team are both financial and personal.

“We had a 15K funding target last year and we managed only £10K, which meant we have had to contribute to our own accommodation and food etc.,” John reveals. “It is of course a huge honour to represent my country and my service, but it’s also a big challenge, because having to win sponsorship means I can’t focus as much as possible on the sport.

“As team manager I have to maintain my skills as a high-performance athlete, and whilst I am given 65 days a year for training, I am still doing a full-time job. My goal is to attain elite athlete status, supported by the RAF; if I can get to that stage, it will help, but whilst I am competing with other pilots, it’s harder for the RAF to lose me from my primary role as a highly skilled technician.

“Finding sponsorship is new to me, and I am learning fast, building relationships with companies such as tlmNexus. We are grateful that they have agreed to sponsor us for a second year, along with three or four other companies."

The nitty-gritty of the financials

“We have a £65K target this year, which will go towards a used sled, which will cost £20-30K (as opposed to a new one which is £60K-ish). The remaining £30-35K will cover the whole season for a four-man team. “This is spread thinly over many items. For example, it costs 60-75 euros per training run, and we have to do three runs per day on a training week, so it soon adds up.

“Then, there is accommodation, food, helmets and other clothing - ice spikes are made by only one company in the world and cost £200 a pair - the vests we wear underneath our suits, gloves for the brakeman to push. Equipment is expensive, such as runners which are £5-10K for a good set, the metal surface that contacts the ice, much like ice skates etc.

“Everything is labour-intensive to make, because it’s aerodynamically designed like an F1 car, from carbon fibre with a steel frame that has to be manufactured to specific regulatory dimensions. It is a niche sport, so only two or three places in the world make what we need. We are trying to change that by working with a very supportive company, Acres Engineering in Derby, who have helped us build a portable push sled, and who bought us a tool kit. We want to help them open up as Bobsleigh specialists and put them in touch with other nations; Greg Rutherford has signed to get involved, so it shows what the sport can bring to business.”

John approached tlmNexus for sponsorship, having done one of the company’s training packages and using its well-known through-life-management system, Resolve on E-3D Sentry AWACS aircraft and Chinook helicopters. Senior staff at tlmNexus are amongst the 4000 people John has connected with on LinkedIn as part of his quest.

“Resolve from tlmNexus is good to use,” he says, “Once you have done the training package it is easy to follow; on Sentry we use it a lot for raising Forms 760s or 765s or service enquiries; the process is good for identifying faults and failures.”

Learning more about Bobsleighing with John Stanbridge inevitably makes people want to stay in touch with how the team gets on. You can do this via LinkedIn, where John gives regular updates on training and new sponsorships, or follow him on Twitter and Instagram. And, of course if you are interested in sponsoring the team, you can contact him via these platforms:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-stanbridge-bobteamstanbridge/

@johnstanners318

John_bobsleigh_stanbridge@outlook.com

Click here for more information on tlmNexus’ Resolve

Here's why we sponsor GBR Bobsleigh...

Exploiting the Defence Digital Backbone

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:27:22 GMT

tlmNexus sponsors Team Defence Information's conference on 16/17 June 2021

tlmNexus are sponsoring Team Defence Information's conference taking place on 16/17 June. The theme is "Exploiting the Digital Defence Backbone" and there will be a wide range of keynote speakers from across the MoD and industry. Discussions include Digital Transformation, Cloud Services, the JIG Vanguard and Transatlantic relationships. We will be exhibiting at a virtual stand and look forward to seeing you there.

tlmNexus announces contract with MBDA

Wed, 05 May 2021 15:43:53 GMT

Building on the foundations of their Queen’s Award-winning Resolve software, tlmNexus is delighted to announce the award of a contract from MBDA to develop a proof of concept weapon lifing service in support of MBDA’s munition life extension programme.

Leading technology company tlmNexus will use its expertise to support the assessment of the safe operating life of advanced munitions. Innovative data collection and analysis methods will help to optimise the operational life of each munition and maximise the time on the aircraft leading to potential cost savings for the UK Ministry of Defence.

tlmNexus provides through-life acquisition and support management solutions for the Defence sector, specialising in the delivery of innovative defence-focused solutions. The services and solutions in the company’s portfolio are designed to evolve in-line with the ever-changing and complex technologically advanced requirements in the defence world. Working with Defence Equipment & Support and MBDA tlmNexus aims to provide the best solutions and obtain the best possible value for money.

MBDA is the only European defence group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems that correspond to the full range of current and future operational needs of the three armed forces (land, sea and air). With a significant presence in five European countries and within the USA, in 2020 MBDA achieved revenue of 3.6 billion euros with an order book of 16.6 billion euros. In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development. Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%), and Leonardo (25%) jointly own MBDA.

Image courtesy tlmNexus / MBDA / G.H.Lee

Sticking with Stem - Arkwright Engineering Scholarships

Mon, 22 Mar 2021 14:41:44 GMT

Chartered Engineer, IMechE Fellow and former Royal Air Force engineering officer Tony Harris knows only too well the importance of encouraging more young people to enter careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths).

In the UK, STEM jobs are expected to grow at double the rate of other occupations creating 142,000 jobs by 2023, according to a 2017 report published by the Social Market Foundation. However, there is a critical shortage of candidates to fill these jobs as not enough younger people, particularly girls, are studying STEM subjects at school. “A lot of potentially brilliant engineers are lost to other careers”, says Tony, “A number of my contemporaries, who studied engineering at degree level, transferred to a career in finance”.

As a sponsor of the prestigious Arkwright Engineering Scholarships, Tony and the Brighton-based software engineering firm tlmNexus, the company he co-founded, is doing its bit to help Year 10 GCSE students embarking on technology-based A levels get the support they need to encourage them into a career in STEM.

tlmNexus has supported six candidates so far from all over the country via the Arkwright Scholarships programme, which matches students with suitable companies depending on their area of interest or research. The scholarships provide much needed financial support for students at a critical juncture in their lives when they could go in any direction. “The scholarship we sponsor helps students buy equipment and carry out research into areas of technology that they're interested in,” explains Tony. “The hope is that they're more likely to stick with STEM once they leave school and university”.

To be considered for the Arkwright scholarship, students have to submit a technology project which is judged by a panel of experts, including academics and tech business owners like Tony. The interview gives students the opportunity to talk about their STEM projects in more detail. The panel then scores each project and scholarships are awarded based on merit. “The quality of the candidates is second to none,” says Tony. “The standard, and their confidence and knowledge, is quite remarkable. There's such a mix of creativity in terms of the projects they have been doing.”

Students awarded a scholarship are also able to benefit from work experience. Tony explains, “The Arkwright students come to us and spend some time with our software engineers. It’s great to have the chance as a student to visit a software company and gain insights into the everyday life of a software engineer, which can help reinforce that this is something they really want to do. It’s also an experience they can record their CV.”

Tony says a career in STEM can take you in many different directions. It’s the creativity involved in building and designing things that ultimately benefit society, whether it is a giant engineering structure or a piece of software like that designed by tlmNexus' software engineers, which helps to keep the Royal Air Force's fleet of fighter jets safely in the air. “It's about creativity, the ability to think laterally to make things work,” explains Tony. “Creativity in STEM is ongoing, as you're always trying to improve things, and the environment is evolving at an incredible rate, driven by advances in technology, not least software, electronics and artificial intelligence.”

Exciting update from Team GB Bobsleigh

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 15:15:17 GMT

Post shared by John Stanbridge, Team GB Bobsleigh Pilot

John Stanbridge, Team GB Bobsleigh pilot has shared the team's progress and how vital sponsorship from tlmNexus has helped:

"Sponsorship from TLM Nexus has been vital to the team's efforts to compete and train. Without your support the results and amazing progress this season would not of been possible.

We travelled 8500 miles to 4 different Bobsleigh tracks, completed 9 weeks of vital training and development, competing in 4 European cup races against some of the best teams and athletes in the world. What is our debut GB season as a team we managed to steadily improve and secure 2 top 20 finishes. Due issues with COVID-19 travel we were forced to run a skeleton crew before Christmas, with myself and Alex-Cortes Tankard trying to maintain form and keep ourselves fresh for the upcoming races Double European Cup race in Winterberg. Leading up to the our first race we had made some steady progress in training at Konigssee and challenged ourselves further at the hardest track in Europe Altenberg coming out on top most of the time. Getting back into a sled at the start of the season is like learning to ice skate, it takes a few goes to find you feet again and build in that muscle memory. We were confident heading into Winterberg that we could put down a decent start time and finish well. A false positive COVID-19 test and a bit of equipment TLC caused the team to miss out on 3 days of training before the race. Ultimately we were not as prepared as we should have been and a mishap in dreaded turn 9 caused us to slip back from 24th – 30th and 32nd place. Not the best start for our first races but we knew that we were capable of more against a tough field of Olympic and World Cup Pilots.

We picked ourselves up and carried out some further training Konigssee to get us back on task before heading into the Christmas break. A decision was made to concentrate on the Igls Austria European Cup race instead of committing to Altenberg. Igls is slightly less challenging starters track and we knew we had a strong chance of securing a Top 20 result with the athleticism in our team. We brought in GB Olympic Bronze Medallist Bruce Tasker to help coach the team and push us to bring down our start times. A familiar track to myself and the team was boosted with the appearance of Brakeman Jason Joseph during our training runs. With no interruptions and a progressive build up to training, we constantly improved our down time and pushes. This proved to be the right formula for us as we went on to finish 16th and only 0.01s away from a Top 15. Taking the place as the highest military sled and 2nd highest GB sled on this day.

Our final race led us to Konigssee Germany, a technical track known to catch even the best pilots out. This sport is such that you are constantly seeking those fastest shortest lines and the risk in every run is a high speed crash. We were very confident at Konigssee, having spent several training weeks here in the past and the track being the location for the Inter-Service Ice Championships for the past 2 years. We adopted the same approach that served us well in Igls and steadily ramped up our push and down times. We recruited in RAF Inter-Service Brakeman Jack Heslop to help support the team as our other athletes had issues with childcare and work. The ice leading up to the race was particularly fast with temperatures down to -10, during this sliding we got down times that would usually appear on the World Cup circuit. We adapted well to the speed increase. A few days rest in the beautiful location of Konigssee gave us a bit of time to relax before attacking the race. With the World Championships finished in Altenberg a week before the race field had increased and featured a prominent World cup field including the German Bronze medallist. We certainly had our work cut out, Myself and Alex Cortes-Tankard pushed a very competitive Top 15 start and I drove us down to 17th place after the first run and finishing 19th after the 2nd. We are incredibly pleased with the results overall and the progress we have made this season.

Securing 2 Top 20 results with equipment over a decade behind the other GB development Pilots and also the other international teams we showed great resilience and spirit to pick ourselves up when we fell down in Winterberg and came back fighting stronger to get the results we rightfully deserve. We will continue to build for next season, with our aims to secure investment for a new sled and runners to help bridge the gap between us and the next level. So we can show what we are fully capable off.

Training and results below.

Event Dates Venue Result

Pre Season Training Camp 14th – 16th Nov 2020 Konigssee, Germany

Training Camp 16th – 22nd Nov 2020 Altenberg, Germany

Training Camp 22nd – 30th Nov 2020 Winterberg,, Germany

Double European Cup race 30th Nov – 6th Dec 2020 Winterberg, Germany 32nd Place and 30th out of 33 sleds

Training Camp 7th – 13th Dec 2020 Konigssee, Germany

Training Camp 4th – 10th Jan 2021 Innsbruck, Austria

European Cup race 11th – 17th Jan 2021 Innsbruck, Austria 16th Place out of 28 sleds

Training Camp 8th – 14th Feb 2021 Konigssee, Germany

European Cup race 15th – 21st Feb 2021 Konigssee, Germany 19th out of 32 sleds"

by John Stanbridge, Team GB Bobsleigh

Click To Paste

New analyst in our Service Evolution Team, Tunde Omoloso

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 15:08:25 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Tunde Omoloso who has joined us as an Analyst in our Service Evolution Team.

Previously Tunde spent over 7 years with Jaguar Land Rover, translating ideas into technical specifications which have now been implemented as software solutions within most Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.

He is looking forward to helping tlmNexus continue developing innovative solutions for our customers. Welcome aboard, Tunde!

tlmNexus sponsors 3Spark Racing

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 13:09:00 GMT

tlmNexus takes great interest in sponsoring teams in sporting events promoting teamwork and ingenuity, externally with our sponsorship of Team GB Bobsleigh, but also internally.

We sponsored 3SparkRacing in 2020, co-founded in 2018 by our own James Page. 3Spark competed in the C1Championship, a spec series endurance championship using the Citroen C1 as the racing platform. It is an incredibly competitive championship, attracting amateur racers all the way up to professional racing drivers practicing between big races. The strict rules and very closely matched cars prove to be the perfect ground for practicing race craft.

Covid-19 meant cancelling almost all the races last year, but the team managed to compete at Donnington and Thruxton. While an early incident led the team to retire early from Donnington, they had a successful race at Thruxton, completing in 29th position out of 45 cars. Although this may not sound like a high finish, it was a rare chance to race at the prestigious Thruxton race circuit which attracted an incredible amount of driving talent, including Ben Collins, yes! That's right, the Stig himself! So a great result and 3Spark are very much looking forward to further racing in 2021 with the continued support of tlmNexus.

Watch this space…

Charities boost in lieu of Christmas cards

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:37:15 GMT

Instead of sending out traditional Christmas cards, we have donated the cost to Rainbow Trust , SSAFA the Armed Forces charity and Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes . These have been nominated by tlmNexus colleagues as the three charities we will be supporting in the coming year.

Rainbow Trust supports families who have a child aged 0-18 with a life-threatening or terminal illness.

SSAFA the Armed Force charity is a support service for people at any stage in their military career, from the youngest recruit to the oldest veteran.

Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes was created in 2008 to share best practice among operational blood bike groups, ensuring its greatest benefit to the NHS.

Ian York joins us as Senior Developer

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 12:29:49 GMT

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Ian York who joined us in August as Senior Developer. Previously, Ian spent 12 years developing web and client services for enterprise encryption products at McAfee. Having over 30 years’ experience, Ian started his programming journey while still at school! He is really looking forward to helping tlmNexus to continue making great products for our customers. Welcome, Ian.

Developer Paul Markwick joins the team

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 12:26:37 GMT

We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Markwick. Paul joined us in August as a Developer having worked in software development since 1998. Paul's extensive experience includes roles at 15below, Virtusales Publishing Solutions, OneFamily and lloydstsb, and we are delighted to have him on board.

tlmNexus sponsors Team GB Bobsleigh

Fri, 27 Nov 2020 12:03:55 GMT

tlmNexus are proud sponsors of Great Britain’s Bobsleigh Team and are thrilled to be supporting their preparations for international competition.

Pictured here are David Appleton, tlmNexus Sales and Marketing Director, and John Stanbridge, GB Bobsleigh Pilot, where David was delighted to formally hand over tlmNexus’ cheque in support.

UK Sport funding was sadly lost for GB Bobsleigh nearly 2 years ago, putting in jeopardy their aim to qualify for the Olympics and contest for a medal. This setback has not halted them, however, and they are working hard, reaching out to companies to sponsor Team GB, in their bid to reach the Olympics.

Fantastic effort by the whole team. We are looking forward to the forthcoming European Cup races on the 5th and 6th of Dec at #Winterberg which should provide some great excitement and competition.

Photograph (c) Crown Copywright

Welcome to our new Head of HR

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 11:00:51 GMT

New Head of HR, Emma Wade

2020 has been a very exciting year for us with new colleagues joining across a number of departments.

On 1st October, Emma Wade became our Head of HR, having previously consulted for us. Emma's HR careers spans 15 years, having been Head of HR, HR Business Partner and HR Advisor at Royal Mail, Northern Rail and Shell. Emma has big plans for strengthening the employee experience here at tlmNexus.

Damage and Repair Tracker Webinar

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 17:37:29 GMT

SMi Defence Safety Conference

Need to know more about DaRT then follow the Webinar presented by Chris McMullan at the SMi Defence Safety Conference on the 5th October 2020.

GOV.UK Digital Market G-Cloud 12

Mon, 19 Oct 2020 14:24:57 GMT

You might find it useful to know that we offer a range of services under the UK Government's Digital Marketplace GCloud framework agreement.

G-Cloud is a framework agreement run by the Crown Commercial Service. It is used for the procurement of cloud-based information technology services by public sector bodies.

So, if you work for a public sector body and need to procure cloud-based IT services which help you to manage complex, high risk projects involving a lot of people, this could make life a lot easier for you.

There is more information, and links to our Cloud Software and Specialist Cloud Service offerings, here on our website.

Naturally, if you'd like to talk to us about these services, we shall be pleased to hear from you.

Demonstrating the value of a single source of the truth

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 08:53:39 GMT

Working closely with the client to identify, report and manage airworthiness issues

tlmNexus was contracted to implement the Resolve issue management service for Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), and the Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) Delivery Team (DT) forms part of the user community.

The implementation of Resolve was deemed essential to ensure that the airworthiness issues were correctly identified, reported and managed, in order to meet the UK Military Aviation Authority’s (MAA) Regulatory requirements.

From the outset we engaged and built strong relationships with key players in the customer’s organisation including the Type Airworthiness Authorities (TAAs) Engineering Authorities (EAs), Desk Officers, Safety Managers, Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation (CAMO) staff and Industry Technical Managers. We co-ordinated all our efforts through a single implementation manager who was nominated by the DT to establish close collaboration and communications with us from the start.

We launched the tool for DE&S in stages. Starting with the most complex, we were able to establish user buy-in and refine the implementation process down to a lean 90 days.

Training

User training was provided during a 4-week period prior to go-live. The training including interactive group and 1-2-1 sessions in the workplace and 100 users were trained at three different locations covering DE&S (Abbey Wood), Front Line Command stations and Industry sites. Now with Resolve users across the Watchkeeper community, airworthiness issues can be reported from the front line operational environments, whilst maintainers record data from Forward or Depth support areas and engineers issue approved technical information to operators in a controlled manner.

Migrating the Data

Over 6000 existing UAS airworthiness and safety records needed to be migrated into Resolve. With the assistance of the DT we completed a data capture, analysis and clean-up exercise to enable a frictionless transition to the new system while maintaining the continuity of airworthiness-related information. Records related to four ongoing Service Inquiries were migrated without any loss of configuration or impact on the operational effectiveness of a key UK military capability.

Key Outcomes

Preparation for both the final demonstration and go-live events included nineteen quality gates necessary to demonstrate confidence in Resolve to the TAA. As a result, when Resolve went live the customer was immediately able to continue management of their Airworthiness issues. The UAS implementation was declared a complete success by the TAA and we were highly praised by the DT for our professionalism, detailed planning, risk management, and willingness to collaborate and take ownership of the process. A test of the effectiveness of Resolve is when the MAA conducts an annual audit. The Watchkeeper MAA audit was facilitated using Resolve, demonstrating the value of a single source of the truth.

UK Apache AH-64E Helicopter Programme

Thu, 25 Jun 2020 08:40:01 GMT

UK Apache AH-64E Helicopter Programme to Benefit from Award-Winning Airworthiness Management System

We are delighted to announce we will be supporting the UK’s Apache AH-64E programme as part of the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Apache Capability Sustainment Programme Project under the existing Airworthiness Issue Management System (AIMS) contract.

The helicopters, which will be flown by the Army Air Corps, will be the latest type to benefit from the capability of the company’s award-winning Resolve software under the existing AIMS contract. Resolve helps the MoD’s platform management teams to track and manage airworthiness-related issues in a way that is compliant with the UK Military Aviation Authority’s engineering regulations.

The principal benefit of Resolve is that it provides a single source of reference for the areas it covers with a transparent, auditable view of all actions and tasks relating to key issues. The advantages of the system are numerous, including the management and mitigation of key risks, the provision of easily accessible management information and presentation of a complete audit trail from the front line all the way through to the Joint Helicopter Command Headquarters. A particularly valuable feature is the ability for remote workers to use the system to maintain the continuity of fleet airworthiness management and data integrity.

The company provides through-life acquisition and support management solutions for the Defence sector, specialising in the delivery of innovative defence-focused software services. The services and products in the company’s portfolio are designed to evolve in-line with the ever-changing airworthiness and safety environment. Training in the use of the Resolve software is provided as part of tlmNexus’ managed application service.

Photograph credit: Andy Oxley

Leonardo contracts with tlmNexus to trial its Damage & Repair Tracker (DaRT)

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 16:47:38 GMT

Anglo-Italian aerospace company Leonardo to use the tlmNexus DaRT system for the UK MoD Merlin Mk 2 helicopters

From May 2020, the tlmNexus’ DaRT application will be in trial with the UK’s fleet of Merlin Mark 2 helicopters, further to a contract with multinational aerospace company Leonardo.

Award-winning Brighton-based tlmNexus is one of the country’s leading tech firms and in 2019 launched the service with the UK Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), to provide MOD Typhoon multirole fighter jets with the DaRT system. The new contract with Leonardo is further recognition of the benefits that DaRT offers.

The application is relevant to both defence and civilian operations.

DaRT enables an entire system’s damage and repair to be recorded and tracked in a single location by multiple users. The Leonardo contract permits the application to be used by both the RN aircrew who fly the helicopter and also the civilian and military maintainers who keep it in the air. Using the application in this ‘end-to-end’ manner, the intention is to ensure that all damage and subsequent repairs are recorded in one place, throughout the system’s lifetime; providing crucial information for making decisions today – as well as into the future.

DaRT is configurable to suit the different platform systems and processes used by various operators. Users are able accurately to record damage and repair on pictorial views, and can include a variety of related data.

DaRT is also able to support the progression of the repair process. For Merlin the tlmNexus team have included existing forms used by the helicopter crew and support team, to request technical assistance into the DaRT application, helping to further improve the efficiency of the damage and repair process.

Tony Harris, Commercial Director at tlmNexus said, “We are delighted to reach agreement with Leonardo and that the Merlin is to use the DaRT application. This new contract for use with a medium lift military helicopter shows the versatility of this adapted ‘off the shelf’ software, and we look forward to maximising its potential for this very different type of aircraft.”

COVID-19 virus Update.

Mon, 23 Mar 2020 11:45:13 GMT

At tlmNexus we are committed to the health and welfare of our staff, our customers and the wider population. The pandemic is having a significant impact on the way normal business is conducted and we monitor and follow the advice published by the UK Government closely while ensuring our ability to maintain fundamental operations and provide essential services to our customers.

Many of our staff are regular remote workers so social distancing, while inconvenient, does not cause significant disruption to the delivery of our services. We have exercised various remote working scenarios that include whole teams and we are continuously improving our communications technology to provide even more resilience while contributing to the Government’s strategy to control the effects of the pandemic.

We are confident that we will continue to deliver an excellent service but if you have any concerns please do not hesitate to get in touch.

We are proud to support P-8A Poseidon

Fri, 21 Feb 2020 14:24:51 GMT

tlmNexus is supporting the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) P-8A Poseidon programme under the Airworthiness Issue Management System (AIMS) contract.

The nine Poseidon MRA Mk.1 (P-8A), which will be flown by the RAF, will be the latest type to be onboarded onto our award-winning Resolve software that helps the MoD’s Delivery Team to track and manage airworthiness-related issues in a way that is compliant with the UK Military Aviation Authority’s engineering regulations.

Here, the aircraft is shown alongside a Typhoon, already supported by Resolve.

The principal benefit of Resolve is that it provides a single source of reference, with a transparent, auditable view of all actions and tasks relating to key issues. The advantages of the system are numerous, including: the management and mitigation of key risks, the provision of easily accessible management information and presentation of a complete audit trail.

The services and products in our portfolio are designed to evolve in-line with the ever-changing airworthiness and safety environment. Training in the use of the Resolve software is provided as part of our managed application service.

DPRTE, 1st April, 2020

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 19:05:50 GMT

Join tlmNexus at DPRTE, 1 April, at the Farnborough International Exhibition Centre

We will be exhibiting at DPRTE, Defence Procurement Research, Technology & Exportability - the UK's leading defence procurement & supply chain event.

Visit us at Stand 147 for a demo of our latest support service solutions for military organisations.

Discover how we can help you to manage your data in a fully accredited environment. Helping you across a diverse range of activities including: maintenance and safety issues, damage and repair tracking, requirements capture and business case management.

Schedule a meeting at DPRTE 2020 by going to our contacts page.

Inspiring the engineers of the future

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 13:45:56 GMT

Supporting the Arkwright Trust for nearly 10 years

Developing the skills and broadening the experience of young engineers is vital to the future of the UK’s economic prosperity, and we have been supporting this cause through the Arkwright Trust for nearly ten years.

Following a meeting back in 2010 between Tony Harris, co-founder and Commercial Director of tlmNexus, and Linda Scott OBE, the then Chief Executive of the Arkwright Engineering Scholarships, tlmNexus agreed to sponsor an individual student each year, contributing towards the cost of their education. This financial support enables a young person to follow their chosen career in engineering, often giving them greater confidence, and opening up new employment opportunities.

Tony Harris said, “Being a Chartered Engineer, I recognised that it was important that we did our bit to promote the profession, and to help those students that have a talent and a motivation to succeed in a career in engineering. Having sat on the interview panels I’ve been tremendously impressed with the passion and enthusiasm of the applicants and the quality of the projects. I’m delighted that we support the scheme not only financially but also by being able to offer work experience to the award recipients.”

On November 1st 2019 the Arkwright Trust’s annual awards ceremony took place in London at the Institute of Engineering and Technology in Savoy Place. This event is a celebration of the success and achievements of the young people supported through the scheme with a keynote speaker, and each graduate of the Scholarship programme is presented with a certificate.

The photo shows Samuel Bishop this year’s winner of the tlmNexus sponsored scholarship, with Suzanne Fisher, our HR Manager, at the awards ceremony.

tlmNexus will continue its financial sponsorship and looks forward to enabling more young people to enter the successful scheme managed by the Trust.

Tracking damage and repairs with precision - DaRT launches

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 13:29:46 GMT

A new service developed with Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S)

When structural specialists from DE&S sought to improve systems for tracking damage and repairs to aircraft, our team developed a secure web-based solution: Damage and Repair Tracker (DaRT).

DaRT enables an entire system’s damage and repair instances to be recorded and tracked by multiple users. This includes tracking associated removable parts across the fleet.

We have been working with DE&S for more than 10 years, and as a long-term and trusted supplier to the organisation, we understand the crucial importance of mapping where and when incidences of damage and the associated repairs occur to military aircraft.

Being former RAF engineers, members of the tlmNexus team appreciate the requirement for the precise nature of technical records involved in managing safety and airworthiness throughout the life of an aircraft. By discussing the client’s requirements, the team identified a method of tracking to visualise the precise location of any damage and repairs which occur over a period of time.

A key feature of the DaRT system is that it enables maintenance and support personnel to visualise parts of an aircraft and identify instances of damage and repairs that occur in specific areas.

By providing a visual representation of the issues, DaRT allows the user to assess and manage risk by collaborating securely online with other specialists. The benefits of DaRT include potentially reduced maintenance costs, improved safety through identifying areas of concern on an individual aircraft as well as across the fleet, and influencing improvement in future designs.

Phil White, Head of Business Relationships here at tlmNexus said, “Maintaining a fleet of aircraft is a complex process. We have been working with DE&S over a period of time, to provide a solution. It has been a rewarding and collaborative exercise and we are excited about the future innovation and application of this service.”

The DaRT solution can be applied to a wide range of equipment across the MOD as well as to international defence organisations and to equipment in civilian environments.

DaRT is one of several web-based tools developed by our team here at tlmNexus to align people, processes and information, to bring better value for money, work-flow efficiency and compliance to high-value systems with a long life expectancy.

Visit us at the Defence Safety Conference

Sun, 29 Sep 2019 13:16:32 GMT

7th and 8th October 2019 in London

We are delighted to be one of the sponsors for the Defence Safety Conference #defencesafetyconference2019 being held on the 7th & 8th October in London and organised by SMi Group.

The aim of the conference is to review the safe delivery of defence capabilities and the parts that operational users, equipment and service delivery organisations and research and development play in defence safety. It will identify good practice to be learned from and inform the views of those who procure, provide and operate Defence equipment and services.

Last year's conference hosted 250 attendees from 18 nations and contributions ranged from the Vice Chief of Defence Staff to Chief Executives of Industry, as well as international operational leaders and military safety experts.

The 2019 Defence Safety Conference will feature briefings from across the air land and maritime domain, as well as from defence leaders from industry and policy makers.

As the only dedicated event dedicated to defence safety, this conference is the global meeting point for the military community.

Come along and catch up with the latest news from #tlmNexus. For more information visit SMI's site .

Come and meet us at the Defence Aviation Safety Conference

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 00:13:16 GMT

Copthorne Tara Hotel, Scarsdale Place, Kensington, London, UK

We are delighted to announce that we will be attending the Defence Aviation Safety Conference sponsored by SMi Group , please click link for full information.

As well as presenting on day two, we will be in attendance throughout the conference so please come and talk to us on our stand.

Photograph is courtesy of SMi Group

2018 Queen’s Award for Innovation

Sun, 21 Apr 2019 00:27:38 GMT

We are delighted to announce that tlmNEXUS has been recognised with a Queen’s Award for Innovation for the development of our Resolve software program.

The Queen announced the award as part of her birthday celebrations on April 21, 2018, and we are honoured to have received this Royal recognition for our work.

Resolve links information which supports safety and sustained effectiveness for the majority of aircraft types operated by the military.

Building on this success tlmNEXUS plans to expand into associated sectors requiring Resolve’s Issue Management capability for other long-term, complex projects. As well as Resolve, the company has developed valuable software foundations which similarly link all collaborators involved in other aspects of long-term projects: Requirements Management, Budgeting and Investment Appraisals and Operational Quality Feedback.

You can read more about Resolve here, and get in touch if you think it might be a system that could work for your organisation.

To find out more about the Queen’s Award for Innovation and whether your business could be eligible to apply, click here .

The Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2018

Sat, 28 Apr 2018 12:07:08 GMT

Queen's Award for Innovation puts Defence Sector SME into the limelight

Software and information services company tlmNexus has been recognised with a Queen's Award for its development of a range of innovative Defence-focused software and services.

Through its ability to integrate data from a multitude of existing environments, its best-known software solution, Resolve, is able to present a single point of reference for those involved in managing equipment safety in the air environment.

Previously, data relating to platform safety and system integrity was kept on numerous separate systems. Collating the required information to support airworthiness approval was complex, time-consuming, and had potential for errors. Originally designed to help delivery teams manage the continuing airworthiness of the Typhoon aircraft platform, Resolve represents a significant step forward in the management of equipment safety and system integrity.

The solution provides a framework for the reporting and management of issues from the front-line to the factory and a secure, auditable trail of information. Since the Award, Resolve has been developed to encompass the digital transformation of many further equipment management processes, and is used in nearly every aircraft across the UK’s military aircraft fleet.

As well as Resolve, the company has developed effective software foundations which similarly link all stakeholders involved in other aspects of long-term projects. These foundations cover Requirements Management, Through-Life Budgeting and Business Cases, and Mission Quality Feedback.

Dart Webinar

How maintaining aircraft on the military front line led to shaping how digital systems are used across Defence.

Mark Beacham, Customer Integration Engineer at tlmNexus talks about trust, change and making systems work.

What refrigeration engineering has to do with Defence software integration

Clive Abrahams is one of our Enhanced Integration Support engineers and here, we gain an insight into his career, his current role and the man outside work.

e Library v2 unlocks new publishing power for Resolve users

tlmNexus recently announced the release of e‑Library Version 2, the next generation of its secure digital document management and publishing platform, optimised for defence and highly regulated environments.

The calm reliability behind tlmNexus’ information systems

James Page, Head of Information Technology at tlmNexus, knows that smooth-running systems are never accidental.

Issues Management at scale across Defence Aviation

The observations in this case study are based on an interview with a senior Resolve user and subject matter expert.

How Enhanced Integration Support (EIS) is strengthening digital capability

Introducing and enhancing digital capability in defence requires time, coordination and sustained commitment from teams already operating under complex regulatory, operational and security constraints.

From literary archives to Advanced Systems

Behind the scenes with tlmNexus Senior Developer Chaz Newman

Turning maintenance data into operational insight with tlmNexus DaRT

Season's Greetings

As 2025 draws to a close, we thank our customers, partners, and colleagues across our local and Defence communities for their continued trust, collaboration and support.

tlmNexus attains Defence Cyber Certification Level 0

tlmNexus has achieved Defence Cyber Certification (DCC) at Level 0, ensuring compliance with defence sector requirements and therefore many of our customers, and reaffirming our commitment to maintaining strong, compliant, and resilient cyber security standards across our organisation.

DaRT: Giving the MOD total visibility of Damage & Repair across fleets

For further information contact Dave Kilbride dkilbride@tlmnexus.com

Finding better ways of working

From geography graduate to Defence digital specialist

What keeps Sophie motivated

Delivering solutions in a complex environment

Where digital capability creates real impact

Leadership, change and building confidence

Looking to the future

A career rooted in people, purpose and… cool aircraft

Her favourite unexpected fact?

From part -time developer to Chief Product Officer

When asked to describe his role in one sentence, Kash Addepally, Chief Product Officer at tlmNexus says, “I make sure our products stay relevant, competitive, and capable of being used in new markets to support tlmNexus’ growth.”

Compliance monitoring and reporting should generate confidence, not paperwork

In our world of the defence industry, compliance metrics and producing robust reports are critical, but anyone who has been close to the process knows how challenging it can be.

e-Library Version 2 with major usability and publishing enhancements

tlmNexus is pleased to announce the release of e‑Library Version 2, the next generation of our secure digital document management and publishing platform optimised for defence and highly regulated environments.

Compliance costs are rising – can you reduce them through Digital Evidence Building?

In the defence industry, compliance is obviously a non-negotiable requirement, but as anyone working in the domain knows, its costs keep rising. How can we reduce the burden without reducing the standard?

Meet Craig Vint - from RAF engineer to customer-focused innovator

The first in a series of insights into tlmNexus team members

“We’re solving real problems that matter”

Defence Airworthiness Issue Management contract extended

Our thanks to the Crown Copyright service for the use of the photograph accompanying this article.

Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikes

An insight into Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikes Service (L.E.B.B.S) by volunteer Matt Hopkins, Senior Customer Integration Engineer at tlmNexus.

tlmNexus awarded new Framework Agreement for G-Cloud 14

tlmNexus sponsors inaugural CAFTAS

tlmNexus had the honour of being one of the prime sponsors of the inaugural Coningsby Awards for Teamwork, Achievement & Service (C.A.F.T.A.S.)

tlmNexus nominated for Advanced Air Mobility Innovation Award

We are proud to announce we are finalists in the Advanced Air Mobility Expo Awards 2024

British 24hr Endurance Race

RAF Waddington Vulcans Karting Team take part in the British 24hr Endurance Challenge at Teesside

Armed Forces Karting Championship (A.F.K.C.) Round 5

Race Report from Cpl Thomas Haywood

﻿ "Pro Kart Endurance

Premier

Final Thoughts

Armed Forces Karting Championships (A.F.K.C.)

tlmNexus continues to sponsor RAF Waddington Vulcans Kart Team as they storm through the 2024 season.

Team GB Bobsleigh bid for Olympics 2026

BobTeamStandbridge reflects on the team's 2023/24 season

Digital Transformation in Defence Equipment Support

Team Defence Information member tlmNexus Ltd. gives an overview of digital transformation in defence equipment support during 2023.

BobTeam Stanbridge - the Road to World Championships

BobTeam Stanbridge prove world cup potential

tlmNexus joins Make UK Defence

tlmNexus becomes a member of national not-for-profit Make UK Defence

New Arkwright Engineering scholar for tlmNexus

tlmNexus continues sponsorship of the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship

Forces2Canaries Team Raise Over £3k for Blind Veterans UK

Ex-tlmNexus employee, Andy Nelson and team have raised £3,236.00 for Blind Veterans UK

tlmNexus sponsors Yeovil Rugby Club age grade teams

Mark Chesterton shares his thoughts on tlmNexus’ sponsorship of Yeovil Rugby Club’s age grade teams

tlmNexus receives Silver Award in AFC Employer Recognition Scheme 2023

Tony Harris and Emma Wade accept the award on behalf of tlmNexus Ltd.

Strong performances from tlmNexus sponsored Vulcans Karting Team keep the pressure on

Flt Lt Ling sits 2nd in the Premier Championship and 1st in the Novice following AFKC Round 5 at "home track" Fulbeck

Recognition of our strength as a forces-friendly company

We are delighted to have received an Armed Forces Covenant Silver Award 2023 for our commitment to supporting the armed forces community, and for being a forces-friendly employer.

"Pro Kart Endurance