UK Defence Footprint 2026

  • The Ministry of Defence says it spent £34.1 billion with UK industry in 2025 to 2026, up 3%, and its spending supported 274,000 jobs in 2024 to 2025, up 10%.
  • It cites £298 billion planned over four years, £1.3 billion with small firms, five Defence Growth Deals and a £400 million annual UK Defence Innovation budget.
  • Regional data show the South East at £8.5bn and the South West at £6.7bn; the document says Dreadnought’s £8.4bn investment and the Telford gun hall support jobs.

Funding and routes in

  • UK Defence Innovation gets a ringfenced £400 million a year, £1.6 billion by 2030, with Growth Services to help firms scale.
  • A Rapid Innovation Team uses commercially available dual-use technology for urgent operational problems “at wartime pace”.
  • Regional Engagement Teams sit in each English region and devolved nation, alongside Regional Defence and Security Clusters.

SME spend

  • The MoD spent £1.3 billion directly with SMEs in 2025 to 2026, with over 2,000 new contracts, over 500 of them directly with SMEs.
  • Examples include BlackTree Technologies (tactical communications, up to £86 million) and Aether Aerospace, named one of 13 “defence unicorns”.

Defence Growth Deals (five, £250 million over five years)

  • Wales: wider access to MoD test ranges and infrastructure so SMEs can do classified work directly.
  • Northern Ireland: a Secure Innovation Hub for start-ups’ secure R&D, plus easier entry to the supply chain.
  • Plymouth: a Marine Autonomy Trials Authority and waterfront labs for testing maritime drones.
  • South Yorkshire: more defence R&D capacity and commercialisation support.
  • Scotland: £5 million each for the Rosyth and Clyde innovation centres.

Skills and partners

  • A £182 million skills package funds Defence Technical Excellence Colleges, and a Defence Universities Alliance links universities to the sector.

Who is setting up in the UK

  • Ukrspecsystems is investing £200 million in East Anglia, Tekever is opening a Swindon drone factory, and Palantir plans up to £1.5 billion for a UK defence headquarters.