Industry Focus: National security and economic growth go hand-in-hand.

“Growth is the number one mission of this government.” – UK Industrial Strategy 

"My first duty as Prime Minister is to keep the British people safe.” – UK Strategic Defence Review 

Two opening statements from two separate strategic government papers in 2025. 

It could be said that only one of these can be true – albeit ‘duty’ and ‘mission’ have quite different meaning. But both plans recognise that a safer and more prosperous UK are one and the same. 

The defence sector plan aims to make the UK a “defence industrial superpower by 2035” – boosted by increased spending as a proportion of GDP and attracting greater inward investment. If both materialise it would represent a significant shot in the arm for UK defence businesses and the wider supply chains that support them. 

Unlike many other Industrial Strategy focus areas, defence is a legacy sector where the UK has a well-established footprint. We once ruled the waves, and since the pioneering radar and aerospace technology of the 1930s, the UK has enjoyed a reputation for world-class defence technology. 

So what will increased investment in R&D and defence sector jobs mean for home grown technology in 2025 and beyond? Among the plan’s chief ambitions is to boost AI and digital capability. This is both as an enabler of intelligent design and manufacture, and as a core intelligent ‘engine’ for technologies in communications and surveillance across maritime and aerospace that improves performance and reduces military workforce burden. 

The plan also proposes a ‘Team UK’ approach to collaboration between government and business. Getting this right will require close work with sectors that too receive focus in the Industrial Strategy – chiefly advanced manufacturing and digital. 

With global tensions heightening, it’s not just economic success but a more secure world that is at stake – plenty of cause to focus minds.