The Defence sector accounts for £12billion GVA, and employs directly and indirectly through supply chains more than 200,000 highly skilled employees. The sector is heavily concentrated in areas critical to the levelling-up agenda, as well as the wider Government agenda of increasing exports, creating good jobs and transitioning to net zero.
However, significant barriers to expansion remain, especially for SMEs, when looking to take advantage of new digital and green opportunities and trading with other markets.
By working closely with the sector and freeing up the agility and dynamism of SMEs we can cross-pollinate the success of the defence sector to maximise economic gains, seize export opportunities and build greater supply chain resilience. This will place an innovative defence sector at the forefront of helping address the many challenges society faces.
Andrew Kinniburgh
Director at Make UK Defence
SMEs offer niche technologies and agility that is essential to British innovation and the future of defence and aerospace. Around 96% of manufacturers are SMEs who help to drive prosperity across the nation. By working together we can ensure that with the right investments and technology the defence manufacturing sector brings a wealth of opportunities for highly skilled jobs and access to new markets for long-term work.
Jeff Lewis
Chief executive at Raytheon UK and chair of the DefenceSupplier Forum (Mid-tier group)
