Marshall stands to attention as UK defence innovation primed for growth

The aim is to rapidly get cutting-edge military technology into the hands of British troops and harness the defence ingenuity of the UK’s leading tech and manufacturing sectors.

The new unit will be launched at the Spring Statement as the Government moves to use defence as an engine of economic growth.

Whether Cambridge based defence innovator Marshall will have a role to play remains unknown. But the company has worked over the years with a great many of the 15 defence doyens named by the Government. They are BAE, Qinetiq, Leonardo, MBDA, Palantir Technologies, Helsing, Anduril, Modini Ltd, Saab UK, Dstl, Babcock, Rheinmetall, Hadean, Rolls-Royce and 2iC.

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Defence Secretary John Healey and Business Secretary Johnathan Reynolds met leaders from the British firms at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire – one of the RAF’s busiest stations with airborne intelligence aircraft and systems – to discuss the how the new unit will operate.

Developed as part of Defence Reform – the biggest overhaul of defence for more than 50 years – the new body is set to simplify and streamline the innovation system within MOD.

It will take a new approach by moving quickly and decisively, using different ways of contracting, to enable UK companies to scale up innovative prototypes rapidly by setting out a clear pathway, working with the Government, from initial production to manufacturing at scale.

As part of a defence innovation drive, the Government will also look to enhance investment in defence start-ups and scale-up technology and capability, including through the National Security Strategic Investment Fund.

Ministers will work with the venture capital and investment community, as well as industry, to leverage private investment in the technology of the future.

The meeting comes after the Prime Minister outlined the Government’s commitment to increase spending on defence to 2.5 per cent of GDP from April 2027 and the Chancellor’s message to European allies at the G20 in South Africa to jointly go further and faster on defence.

The new innovation unit will help equip Britain’s Armed Forces with cutting-edge tech and grow hi-tech British businesses in the defence innovation ecosystem. It will take the lessons from the rapidly changing nature of warfare, as seen in the conflict in Ukraine.

Increased defence spending will support highly skilled jobs and apprenticeships across the whole of the UK. Last year, defence spending supported over 430,000 jobs across the UK, the equivalent to one in every 60, and 68 per cent of defence spending goes outside of London and the South East, benefiting every nation and region of the country.

Backing the defence industry will protect UK citizens from threats at home but will also create a secure and stable environment in which businesses can thrive, supporting the Government’s number one mission to deliver economic growth.

Rachel Reeves, said: “The world is less certain than it has been for a generation. History tells us that government and industry must rise to meet these moments together. We need to invest in sophisticated, innovative kit and get it into the hands of our fighting men and women.

“In the world we face, national security and economic growth are going to go hand in hand. High-skilled, well-paid jobs across the UK will both make our country safer and put pounds in people’s pockets.”

Science and Tech Secretary, Peter Kyle, added: “Britain’s science and research expertise has always played a role in keeping us safe, and still does: from inventions like radar and codebreaking machines in the 20th century, through to innovations around drone technology and cybersecurity, today.”