Clearly these are interesting times for the UK defence industry, with the continuing war in Ukraine, multiple conflicts in the Middle East, and constant threats and challenges in the Far East; the commitment of the UK to support, train and arm our allies, and the need for replenishment of depleted stockpiles as a result of that ongoing support. We also have on the one hand economic pressures to reduce defence spending, and on the other hand political/geopolitical pressure to increase spending to match the contributions of our principal allies. This all feeds into the competing interests to invest in new airborne and seaborne technology and large-scale programs, versus deployment of limited resources to maximise the stock of conventional armaments.
At SDSC we see a significant opportunity for many established businesses, some now turning over in a month what previously they turned over in a year, and with full order books beyond 2025. We also see new opportunities for emerging start-ups with unique and innovative technology. The political agenda to maximise the effectiveness of increasingly limited resources is focusing procurement on interoperability, to ensure the potential to share resources between allies, recognising that we can achieve more together than we can acting in silos.
In this climate we continue to hear from our participants about perennial challenges: securing finance to develop businesses when mainstream funders still regard defence as toxic, and recruitment of a skilled and experienced workforce with appropriate security clearance when domestic personnel have ever widening opportunities internationally with the increased appetite and capability to work remotely.
We have attempted to develop and adapt our programme to address these challenges. As ever, we are very grateful to UK MoD, UK Strategic Command and DE&S for their continuing support and partnership in delivery of the classified conference (Day One – 18 November) which offers such value to our participants. We are similarly very grateful to the increasing interest and support from our US partners, and delighted to see U.S. Army Futures Command/DEVCOM, US Special Operations Command, U.S. Army Foreign Comparative Testing and USSOCOM’s own innovation incubator SOFWERX, supported by British Embassy Washington DC, returning to SDSC with increased participation. DEVCOM reported allocation of $1.5 million of new business to SDSC participants in the first year following their initial involvement, and those opportunities continue to grow.
This year we are seeking to respond to the reported challenges of our participants to bridge the funding and skills gaps. For the first time we see the involvement of the NATO Innovation Fund, Office for Strategic Capital (US Congress) and other national and international funds supporting this sector with whom we have worked to develop relationships during the year since SDSC 23. We have also created strategic relationships with specialist funders in the commercial sector and recruiters established and run by veterans with a real understanding of the industry. NIF have observed that increased international defence spending has seen some funders who previously regarded the sector as toxic trying to “jump on the bandwagon” with little real understanding of the unique intricacies of this territory. We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with them and others to identify those who really understand the terrain.
This year for the first time we expand our event from 2 days to 3. In previous years the intense activity on Day Two meant that participants who genuinely wanted to attend the unclassified conference were too busy on their stands to leave the exhibition floor, which led to depleted audiences for presenters who had given their time pro bono to prepare and deliver their presentations. Similarly exhibitors observed that attendance represented a significant investment for a two-day conference, and they would welcome expansion into a third day. We hope that all our participants will derive benefit from the increased scope for knowledge sharing and one-to-one engagement between industry and procurement.
I would like to personally thank all of our presenters, exhibitors and sponsors. In particular, I would like to recognise the hard work and dedication of our CEO Anna Roby Welford, and her unstinting support in creating and developing this event from 2017 onwards. I would also like to record my gratitude to retired Major General Robin Anderton Brown, until September head of capability at UK STRATCOM, and now returning to the event which he helped to create – our keynote speaker at the very first event in 2017, and the architect of the co-option of the event as host for MoD’s classified conference – returning in 2024 to compere our unclassified conference on Day Three (20 November).
I hope that you enjoy the event and find even more opportunities for new business. Thank you for your support.
