Make UK Defence: Championing the UK's Vital Defence Supply Chain

Make UK Defence stands as a pivotal national organisation dedicated to championing the UK’s defence supply chain, playing a crucial role in securing the nation's prosperity and security. Evolving from its regional roots to a significant national body, it actively works to ensure a thriving, competitive, and innovative defence industry.

Evolution of Make UK Defence

Make UK Defence originated as the Northern Defence Initiative (NDI), launched approximately two decades ago by the North East Development Agency. Its initial purpose was to assist regional businesses in securing contracts for nascent aircraft carrier programmes. Over time, the organisation rebranded as Make UK Defence and expanded its scope to become one of only two national defence trade associations recognised by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). It operates as a not-for-profit, member-owned defence trade association, forming an integral part of the broader Make UK organisation. Today, it boasts nearly 300 members spread across the entirety of the United Kingdom.

Current Activities and Importance

Make UK Defence's mission is multifaceted, focusing on understanding, advocating for, and supporting its members within the domestic and global defence industry.

Key aspects of its work include:

• Championing the UK's innovative and diverse defence supply chain.
• Representing members' interests to the government and wider industry, ensuring their concerns are heard by ministers and civil servants across Whitehall and the MoD.
• Facilitating networking and "Meet the Buyer" events to connect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with Defence Primes and Government buyers.
• Offering the "Fit for Defence" programme, a bespoke business improvement initiative that provides tailored action plans covering business strategy, marketing, environmental, health and safety processes, bidding success, cyber security, and export strategy.
• Acting as a leading interface with major prime contractors in the defence and space sectors.
• Operating a Defence Portal that provides access to business opportunities and events for its members.

The broader aerospace, defence, security, and space sectors are considered critical national assets, vital for the UK's prosperity and security. These sectors collectively added £42.2 billion to the UK economy in 2024, marking a 64% increase over the past decade, and generated a turnover of £100 billion. They directly employed 443,000 people in 2024, with two-thirds of these jobs located outside of London and the South East. The defence and aerospace manufacturing subsector alone contributes over £12 billion in manufacturing output annually, accounting for almost 5% of total UK manufacturing. Jobs in this sector are high-value and high-skill, with an average salary of £45,594, which is 27% higher than the manufacturing average. Notably, micro and SMEs constitute 97% of defence and aerospace manufacturers, underscoring Make UK Defence's critical role in supporting this extensive network.

Plans for the Future

Make UK Defence is strategically positioned to enhance its contribution to the defence industry, particularly as the UK’s strategic defence review approaches and generational programmes such as the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) and AUKUS take shape. The organisation anticipates a "very busy 2025," focusing on helping UK SME manufacturers successfully engage and win business within the defence supply chain by fostering strong relationships. The Make UK Defence Summit 2025 is a key upcoming event, offering opportunities for networking, keynote speeches, roundtable discussions, and "Meet the Buyer" sessions, allowing members to showcase their capabilities to primes, the MoD, and other suppliers.

Relationship with Government Organisations, Including the Ministry of Defence

Make UK Defence maintains a close working relationship with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), being one of only two national trade associations officially recognised by them. It leads the MoD’s new small- and medium-size enterprise (SME) working group, with an industry co-chair from its membership. This group is instrumental in fostering improved engagement between the MoD, major prime contractors, and the SME/mid-tier supply chain, especially as the MoD aims to spend around 25% of its total budget with SMEs. The MoD engages regularly with trade associations like Make UK Defence.

The Strategic Defence Review 2025 outlines a vision for a "new partnership with industry," emphasizing innovation and backing UK businesses, aligning with Make UK Defence's advocacy. The review also calls for a Defence Industrial Strategy to drive radical reform, with the MoD using its buying power to stimulate economic growth and prioritise UK-based businesses. This includes plans to establish a UK Defence Innovation organisation with £400 million in funding for UK-based companies and a new Defence Exports Office within the MoD to boost exports. Make UK Defence's efforts directly contribute to these strategic objectives by fostering a resilient and innovative industrial base.

Benefits for Aerospace Manufacturers in the South East of England

Aerospace manufacturers in the South East of England can significantly benefit from Make UK Defence's activities due to the region's strong presence in the industry. The South East is identified as a major contributor to the UK's aerospace and defence market, characterized by a robust manufacturing base, advanced research facilities, key industry players, and a skilled workforce.

Make UK Defence provides the following advantages for manufacturers in this region:

• Networking and "Meet the Buyer" opportunities directly connect South East manufacturers with Defence Primes and government buyers, fostering crucial business relationships.
• The "Fit for Defence" programme offers tailored business improvement plans that can enhance the competitiveness, bidding success, cyber security, and export strategies of companies in the South East.
• By leading the MoD’s SME working group, Make UK Defence directly advocates for and improves engagement for SMEs in the South East, helping them secure a share of the MoD's substantial budget.
• Its broader mission to champion the UK defence supply chain and ensure government attention to members' concerns directly supports businesses in the South East.
• While not explicitly partnered in the sources, Make UK Defence's national scope and activities complement the work of regional bodies like the FAC, which supports companies in Southern England in improving competitiveness. This ensures comprehensive support for manufacturers across all regions, including the South East.

To "make UK defence fit for defence," recent government plans focus on a significant increase in defense spending to 2.5% of GDP, a future ambition of 3%, and a substantial £6.4 billion investment by 2027 to boost national security and economic growth.

Key strategies include fostering innovation in new technologies like drones and AI through a dedicated budget, reforming the defence procurement system to be faster and more accessible to small businesses, strengthening the domestic defense industrial base, and reforming the MOD's relationship with the supply chain to improve business performance and operational capabilities. 



Make UK Defence's current list of priorities includes:

• To have a deep understanding of its members and their challenges within the context of the domestic and global defence industry.
• To amplify the pivotal role of the UK defence supply chain, while ensuring members’ challenges and concerns are clearly heard and acted upon by ministers and civil servants across Whitehall and the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
• To help UK Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) manufacturers enter and win business within the defence supply chain by fostering strong relationships within the sector.
• To champion and support the UK’s innovative and diverse defence supply chain, helping to build an innovative and internationally competitive industrial base.

Make UK Defence offers the following programmes and services:

• Networking and "Meet the Buyer" Events: These events are designed to help members make crucial business connections across the diverse defence industry. They facilitate links between SMEs and Defence Primes and Government buyers, through both regular face-to-face meetings and virtual sessions.

• "Fit for Defence" Programme: This is a bespoke business improvement initiative for organisations of all sizes and experience levels in the sector. Specialists assess an organisation's strengths and weaknesses to develop a tailored action plan for maximising future growth. This can help members to:
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• Craft their business strategy.
• Create impactful marketing plans.
• Refine their environmental, health, and safety processes.
• Improve their bidding successes.
• Enhance their cyber security capability.
• Develop their export strategy.

• Defence Portal: This online platform provides members with access to the latest:
• Business opportunities, highlighted through intelligence-led research to help members place their specialist products with government departments or other businesses.
• Events, including digital webinars, in-person networking, industry days, and conferences, to help grow their stakeholder network.

• Leadership of the MoD's SME Working Group: Make UK Defence is the lead trade association for the MoD’s new SME working group, with an industry co-chair drawn from its membership. This group plays an important role in improving engagement between the MoD, major prime contractors, and the SME and mid-tier supply chain, especially given the MoD's aim to spend approximately 25% of its total budget with SMEs.

As part of the broader Make UK organisation, Make UK Defence leverages this affiliation to represent the interests of nearly 300 members across the UK, engaging with government bodies and major contractors as one of only two national defence trade associations recognized by the MoD.