Defence Secretary’s DSEI 2025 Keynote Speech

Thank you to all of you and congratulations on your endurance to nonetheless to be on the convention right here on the finish of the ultimate third day and thanks for becoming a member of as that is the closing speech.

This is definitely my first DSEI as Defence Secretary. It’s not my first as a customer, and I’ve been actually struck by the excitement, the excitement of what’s undoubtedly the most important ever.

Congratulations to the organisers, there’s over 1600 exhibitors and it’s getting on to 50,000 getting by way of the doorways in these 5 days, thanks. And I additionally stated, thanks at those that are right here for tech firms to conventional primes. We know that our defence, our deterrence on this nation rests on the facility of trade and the tempo of your capability to invent and to innovate.

And I’m sincerely grateful to you for what you do, in making an attempt to make sure with us that our Armed Forces have what they should do their job of retaining us all protected. And let me additionally as a result of they’re right here with us this afternoon, as properly, welcome our buddies from Ukraine.
It’s now three and a half years since Putin launched his brutal, unlawful full-scale invasion. three and a half years, he’s taken a horrible toll in your homeland. lives misplaced, land stolen and household’s torn aside. And in current days we’ve witnessed a harmful escalation, assaults on a authorities constructing for the primary time and the biggest ever airstrike.

And then the night time earlier than final, Putin took his hostility to a brand new stage in violating Poland’s airspace. Deep sufficient to shut Warsaw airport, deep sufficient to drive NATO Jets to take defensive army motion. Those Russian assaults, these actions have been reckless, they have been unprecedented and so they have been harmful, and I’ve assured Poland’s defence minister that UK stands completely agency in our assist for our Polish buddies, however I’ve directed our Armed Forces to have a look at choices on how we will bolster NATO’s airspace in Poland.

And precisely in the identical method, the UK’s dedication to Ukraine is absolute. We will stand with you, we are going to proceed to face with you for so long as it takes.
And final week, I used to be in Kiev. I met staff there who’re making essentially the most superior battlefield drones. Their Factory’s been bombed 5 occasions this 12 months. And but, they nonetheless each morning, these women and men return risking their lives, in order that these on the entrance line have what they should defend their freedom of their nation.

Those Factory staff I believe remind us that the Ukrainians proceed to battle with large braveness, army, and civilians alike. And in addition they remind us that when a rustic is below risk or compelled to battle, their Armed Forces are solely as sturdy because the trade that stands behind them. And it is because of this that’s a part of the Hundred Year strategic relationship between the UK and the Ukrainian individuals, signed by the final authorities, resigned by this, that we’ve got down to strengthen our defence industrial bases by way of mutual cooperation.

And I’m happy to report important progress within the current days. Last week, Ukrspecsystems, Ukraine’s largest drone producer introduced it’s investing £200m in two new services within the UK. That will create 500 high-skilled jobs, it’ll drive financial development throughout East Anglia. It marks the primary main funding by a Ukrainian defence firm into the UK. And right this moment, I can announce a brand new kind of commercial partnership that brings Ukraine and the UK nearer nonetheless.

It demonstrates that wartime necessity actually is the mom of fixed invention. Because of the assistance of a chunk of drain pipe, Ukrainian engineers not too long ago constructed a small uncrewed interceptor drone. One which has proved extremely efficient in taking down the Shahid one-way assault drones regardless of costing lower than 10 p.c of the Russian methods it efficiently destroys.

Well now defence minister Denys Shmyhal and I’ve signed a brand new settlement for a primary of its type partnership. So by way of Project Octopus, with this drone, our Ukrainian buddies will share this know-how and the IP with the UK. In flip, collectively, we’ll quickly develop this additional after which mass produce it, supplying hundreds of interceptor drones again into Ukraine every month. This is what it means when the Ukrainian defence minister says, ‘we know the UK is Ukraine’s closest, most dependable ally’.

So for Ukraine, which means they’ll higher shield their individuals, their homeland from that Russian onslaught. But it additionally means, that this world-leading invention and manufacturing, they’ve in Ukraine, now, is fight examined each week, they are going to be higher, able to win Western markets when peace is secured. And for Britain, It means we now have entry to the very best and creating battlefield know-how for our personal forces.
In brief, it strengthens our safety and likewise grows our financial system. And that win-win Is the precept that’s underpinning our Defence Industrial Strategy that was revealed on Monday this week. More than £770m on this subsequent three years, authorities funding behind this technique. We got down to make it defence as an engine for development by backing British trade, creating British jobs, driving better British innovation.

And the message I hope you’ve heard this week for ministers, from senior army officers, from officers is that we’re in search of to construct a radically completely different relationship with trade, with traders and with innovators. Because these are the relationships which can be required to fulfill this new period for defence, to fulfill this new period of risk. And every part we now have deliberate in authorities Is backed by the biggest sustained improve in defence spending for the reason that finish of the Cold War. The first time that any of you sitting on this corridor, in your careers can have seemed ahead to the knowledge of 10 years of rising defence spending.

And I’ve to say that’s the sign that so typically trade has stated to me you require a certainty, a confidence concerning the future and we’re already beginning to see the influence of that. Since final 12 months’s election alone. over 900 main contracts we’ve signed, over 1.4 billion of international developed funding into defence. Many occasions the extent the 12 months earlier than and 1.8 billion MOD direct spend within the UK this 12 months in comparison with final.

But with this promise to spend extra, comes a accountability to spend it higher. And the issues of presidency procurement are well-known and long-standing. We don’t have to rehearse them now, however gradual complicated, wasteful. Yet, we all know that at any time when tools is within the fingers of the battle fighter, whoever can get that new know-how into their fingers quickest, has the sting. We’ve proved we will do it with Ukraine by way of the wonderful work of Task Forces Kindred. We now should do it for ourselves in Britain.

So you’ll see within the Defence Industrial Strategy, a few of the hallmarks of what we got down to do now. A segmented strategy to authorities procurement. With time to contract targets. The creation of a robust new nationwide armaments director, the introduction of a five-year acquisition pipeline, all meant to imply that we are going to get tools from the manufacturing facility to the entrance line quicker. All designed to offer enterprise, traders extra confidence to take a position for yourselves, In the British defence trade. We will introduce an offset coverage in session with you for the primary time ever on this nation. So that implies that once we take a call to purchase overseas from allies, as we are going to, the UK’s financial system will however be strengthened in return. New jobs, double applied sciences or investments. So that once we spend, kilos overseas, we will additionally make Britain stronger on the similar time.

And to you smaller corporations amongst us right here, you might be an indispensable a part of our future, and of our trade. Now, I do know you’ve informed me for, Four years within the job earlier than the final election and 14 months since, the MoD hasn’t been a buyer that’s been straightforward to do enterprise with, and we are going to got down to change that.

We’ve arrange an workplace of small enterprise development designed to assist SMEs to do enterprise with defence. We’ve launched a brand new goal to extend our spending straight with SMEs to £7.5 billion by 2028. The quantity, that direct MOD spend had been taking place earlier than the final election. That goal is a 50% uplift.

And accessing take a look at analysis services has at all times been powerful. It’s at all times been, complicated, and part of the plan to ease that, QinetiQ are introducing a take a look at and analysis innovation gateway particularly to speed up that entry and availability for smaller corporations. And then on the coronary heart, Innovation. It was the center of the Strategic Defence evaluation, the popularity for these international locations that get the most recent equipment, the most recent know-how into their fingers that the battle fighters do have a battlefield edge, And that for these international locations, it reinforces the deterrence that they’ll supply. So that’s why we’re dedicated now from this 12 months to spend not less than 10% of our tools plan on novel applied sciences.
It’s why we’ve mixed current companies and created the brand new UK defence Innovation. Backed by £400m of ring fenced funding. With new freedoms to have the ability to make selections on priorities and on funding. And our technique additionally units out, how we are going to see you UKDI producing applied sciences, which give our Armed Forces, the benefit in addition to the primary Innovation challenges, we see them operating on novel drones.

And lastly, we now have to make sure that what I’ve known as and the Prime Minister talks about as a defence dividend from elevated defence funding reaches all elements of the UK. A defence dividend as a lift to British jobs, to British companies and British Innovation.

And so, as a part of this technique this week, We’ve dedicated an additional £250m to defence development offers in North Island, Scotland. Wales and two in England. Yes, all this implies jobs. And the ADS calculates that within the subsequent decade, with these plans we must always see an additional 50,000 jobs within the defence sector this decade. But we’re not going to create the roles, we’re not going to fill these jobs until we’ve obtained the individuals out there to take action. And so, You’ll have seen a serious a part of the defence technique is the defence abilities part. Again. Fresh funding, new dedication,£182 million over these subsequent three years. It’s the most important funding in a defence talent plan for many years.

It is our half in authorities of serving to you in enterprise construct the workforce with the intention to meet the calls for that our Armed Forces want. Then I flip if I may to exports earlier than we transfer on to questions.

One of essentially the most neglected, however most promising alternatives for British defence trade is our exports. And final week, I formally went to Stavanger and I signed the most important ever British warship deal in historical past with Norway. 10 billion pound frigate contract that can safe not less than 4,000 jobs for the following 15 years.

It’ll put a 13 sturdy anti-submarine Fleet into the North Atlantic and excessive North. An illustration that the place we export defence capabilities, We not solely develop our financial system, we additionally strengthen our safety. But the true take a look at for me now’s how we construct from right here. How we in authorities work with you that can assist you be extra profitable to exit and win extra export offers.

So, we now have introduced that we are going to arrange now the workplace of defence exports. Meaning that accountability for defence exports is once more unified the place it must be within the MoD. It permits us to create that authorities to authorities drive which displays each what our allies are telling us, they need, and what you in trade are telling us, you need and count on from us.

And alongside that you simply’ll discover our export licencing system, Improved with the brand new digital platform, higher coaching for employees and procedures that can, as an illustration, let you begin making use of for licencing in the course of the bidding course of, not when it’s concluded. So if I could let me shut, by simply saying this.

Thank you as a result of that defence industrial technique we revealed on Monday, has been vastly strengthened by the detailed work and  engagement that we’ve had with lots of you on this room are extra broadly inside trade. Because all through this course of, my intention has been to supply a method with trade and never for it.

Because I would like this to be Britain’s defence industrial technique, not the federal government’s defence industrial technique. And I hope you see, with a transparent plan. Backed, with actual new funding, we are going to now work to implement it with you, with trade. And I hope you see In Luke Pollard as the brand new Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry that the Prime Minister has appointed to that put up one of many standout ministers on this first 12 months of our labour authorities.

His job alongside me, shall be to spearhead our facet of the supply of that defence industrial technique. So we are going to assist British-based companies to take a position and develop and export.

We will carry excessive paid, excessive expert jobs to each a part of the UK. We’ll develop the superior applied sciences that can give our personal forces, the battlefield edge. We will make Britain safer. More safe at house. Stronger overseas. Thank you.