Defence & Aerospace

The UK’s Strategic Defence Review calls for a step‑change in defence and a “radical reform of procurement” to drive innovation at pace and strengthen industry partnership. The Defence Industrial Strategy 2025 reinforces this direction, aiming to transform procurement and acquisition systems as part of building warfighting readiness and industrial resilience.

Defence policy now explicitly links Armed Forces strength to the industrial base behind it, prioritising a more resilient UK industrial base and stronger supply chains. In aerospace, industry reporting highlights persistent supply‑chain difficulties and the need to build resilience to deliver global backlogs and future growth.

Sector bodies and unions warn that defence and aerospace are disproportionately affected by skills shortages and that this is unsustainable as demand rises. The Defence Industrial Strategy 2025 also positions skills development as central to building a resilient industrial base and enabling innovation at pace.

The Ministry of Defence’s Cyber Security Model (CSM) sets a risk‑based approach to building cyber security into the defence supply chain, including required controls for suppliers and flow‑down expectations through subcontractors. At a national level, the NCSC’s Annual Review 2025 stresses that cyber resilience is a board‑level priority and highlights rising nationally significant incidents, with threats impacting critical infrastructure and essential services.

Parliamentary scrutiny continues to highlight risks in delivering long‑term defence plans, with the Public Accounts Committee raising concerns about procurement improvement needs and the importance of transparent plans for effective oversight. The NAO’s MoD overview also notes that many projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio are rated Red or Amber, underscoring delivery and risk challenges across major programmes.

The Strategic Defence Review sets out ambitions linked to readiness and national resilience, alongside a renewed partnership with industry and an “engine for growth” approach that will require significant enabling infrastructure. Major projects commentary around the Review points to substantial opportunities and demands in defence infrastructure recapitalisation (bases, ports, airfields, logistics hubs), requiring complex delivery capability and safe integration with operations.