The UK Government is being urged to channel the innovation in the defence sector across UK manufacturing, maximising the benefits and future technological opportunities for the rest of the economy, according to a major report published today.

The report Defence: Opportunity, resilience and prosperity produced by Make UK Defence, the voice of the defence supply chain, in partnership with Raytheon UK highlights the dynamic contribution the sector makes to the economy, accounting for £12 billion and employing, directly or indirectly through supply chains, over 200,000 highly skilled people.

The sector is also heavily concentrated in areas which will be critical to the levelling-up agenda, as well as the wider Government goal of increasing exports, creating good jobs and transitioning to net zero.

Furthermore, as well as the technological innovations in defence and the opportunities which will come through adoption of digital technologies, the report highlights the socially-responsible approach companies are taking to invest in people and clean, digital advanced technologies.

However, significant barriers to expansion remain, especially for SMEs looking to win procurement contracts and enter overseas markets, and as a result, Make UK is urging the Government to work with the sector to remove them.

The organisation has made a number of recommendations to help provide firms with the confidence to invest in developing new technology, products and services, such as creating an Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) ‘spin off’ for the defence sector.

Cutting-edge technologies
Andrew Kinniburgh, Make UK Defence director, said: “The UK defence sector is one of the most dynamic in the world and is unrivalled in its ability to adopt and, invest in, cutting-edge technologies. As the adoption of digital technologies in particular accelerates, we now have a unique opportunity to harness the talents of companies right across the sector.

“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.”

Jeff Lewis, Raytheon UK chief executive and chair of the Defence Supplier Forum (Mid tier group), said: “SMEs offer niche technologies and an agility that is essential to British innovation and the future of defence and aerospace.

“Around 96% of manufacturers are SMEs which 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.”

According to the report, the prospects in the sector for young people is highlighted by the average salary being over £45,000, which is more than a quarter higher than the average salary in manufacturing which itself is higher than the salary for the economy overall. In the East Midlands, for example, the average salary in defence is 45% higher than the regional average.

The sector also invests heavily in people and is aware of its social responsibility with three quarters of companies taking measures to ensure a diverse and inclusive workforce, two thirds investing in apprenticeships and nine in ten in wider training programmes.

As one of the most innovative sectors of the economy spending almost £2 billion a year on R&D, the report shows the sector is looking to the future with almost three quarters of companies (71%) investing in digital technologies in the last two years and almost half (46%) in green technologies.

Furthermore the defence sector is heavily committed to evolving technologies with more than a third (35%) exploring opportunities in autonomous robotics and vehicles, over a quarter (26%) in clean technologies and propulsion and almost a fifth in Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality. Make UK believes that, in the same way the defence sector invented GPS which was then translated into civilian use the same can happen with these technologies.

However, the report highlights some striking barriers that SMEs face. In particular 85% of companies say it is somewhat or very difficult to obtain procurement contracts while a similar number (86%) find it difficult to access new markets, a situation not helped by the removal of the Trade Access Programme.

There is also frustration with the UK’s Export Control process which causes delays while a third of companies cited the imposition of non-UK standards and regulations on the UK defence supply chain by overseas prime contractors as an issue.