Advancing UK Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space Solutions Worldwide
  • Home
  • /
  • Defence
  • /
  • Industry delivers UK defence dividend

Defence

Industry delivers UK defence dividend

Research by Oxford Economics has revealed that the UK Government’s ambition to deliver a 'defence dividend' is already taking effect, with the nation’s biggest defence company, BAE Systems, contributing £13.7 billion to national GDP in 2024, accounting for one in every £200 of the country’s economic output.

Image courtesy BAE Systems

The ‘BAE Systems Contribution’ report comes soon after the UK’s Strategic Defence Review was announced at BAE Systems’ site in Glasgow, where the Prime Minister outlined a plan to create: “A defence dividend – that will be felt in the pockets of working people and the prosperity of the country, securing growth for generations to come.”

Advertisement
Leonardo RT

Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive, BAE Systems, said: "We work at pace, every day to deliver the advanced, technology-led capabilities the UK’s armed forces need to defend our freedom and strengthen national security but this report shows that our industry delivers so much more than that. 

"We fuel economic growth, creating jobs and prosperity, with the impact extending far beyond BAE Systems to the thousands of companies we work with right across the UK, helping to support growth and a robust, resilient and innovative UK defence industrial base."

Through its Industrial Strategy, the UK Government has made it clear that defence is central to both national security and economic growth, aspiring to harness innovation and industrial power to make defence a new engine for growth. This encompasses a broad range of positive economic outcomes, including jobs, exports and lasting productivity gains and today’s report outlines some of the ways BAE Systems is already delivering by:

Advertisement
Teledyne
  • Supporting over 159,000 full-time equivalent jobs, including almost 50,000 in its UK business
  • Driving economic activity through a UK-wide supply chain, with 5,800 UK suppliers and £5.8 billion spent, supporting jobs across the country
  • Creating opportunities where they are needed most, with over 40% of its UK workforce living in the most deprived fifth of local authority areas, and £1.3 billion spent with businesses in those areas  

The report also outlines how BAE Systems is intensifying its commitment to skills development. In 2024, the Company invested £230 million in education and training, including more than £150 million for 4,650 apprentices and almost £50 million for graduate training. This significant investment directly supports the UK Government’s vision to create new jobs, create skills and opportunity and drive huge growth in industrial capacity.

View the full report here: www.baesystems.com/ukcontribution

Advertisement
General Atomics LB
GKN Aerospace secures Typhoon transparencies contract

Defence

GKN Aerospace secures Typhoon transparencies contract

10 July 2025

GKN Aerospace has has signed a six-year follow-on contract with BAE Systems for continued manufacture of Eurofighter Typhoon transparencies at its Luton facility, through to the end of 2030.

Metis to supply Skyperion to NATO ally

Defence Security

Metis to supply Skyperion to NATO ally

10 July 2025

Metis has won a contract to supply a number of Skyperion drone detection systems to a NATO customer to provide the drone detect function as part of an integrated Counter Uncrewed Air Systems (C-UAS) capability.

ALL.SPACE unveils Hydra MAX

Defence Space

ALL.SPACE unveils Hydra MAX

10 July 2025

ALL.SPACE has revealed a major advancement in mobile satellite communications with the successful demonstration of Hydra MAX - the first network independent terminal of its kind to deliver ultra wideband communications to multiple satellites simultaneously.

BAE Systems assessed

Defence

BAE Systems assessed 'Awardable' for US DoD work in P1 Solutions Marketplace

9 July 2025

BAE Systems in collaboration with Defense Unicorns, have announced that their joint solution has achieved 'Awardable' status for US Department of Defense (DoD) work through the US Platform One (P1) Solutions Marketplace.

Advertisement
Leonardo RT
Government unveils Team UK approach to defence

Defence

Government unveils Team UK approach to defence

8 July 2025

UK Government plans to deliver jobs across the country by unlocking the full economic potential of Britain's defence sector are being unveiled today.

Construction begins on SLA accommodation at RAF Cosford

Defence

Construction begins on SLA accommodation at RAF Cosford

8 July 2025

Construction has started on a new 50-bedroom Single Living Accommodation (SLA) block at RAF Cosford in Shropshire.

Advertisement
ODU RT