This is a vital national asset that gives our nation a significant strategic advantage; ensuring the UK can independently contribute to regional and global security, deter aggression, assert its authority and protect its interests both domestically and internationally.
The industrial base providing the UK’s sovereign combat air capability is undoubtedly also a strategic national asset.
At a time when there is strong debate around our national defence capability, and where and how investment is made to ensure we can respond to the increasing threat environment, the need to protect the national ecosystem which provides this capability has arguably never been so crucial.
It is only by building on the skills and technologies we have in the UK, that we can retain our air power advantage, and ensure the UK can assert sovereignty and maintain military superiority in a rapidly evolving security environment.
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Since the dawn of the industry, investment in UK combat air has supported growth and advancement of UK technology and development of high value skills and meaningful careers.
Today our industry supports more than 48,000 high-skilled jobs across every part of the United Kingdom, in specialist areas such as design, flight testing, radar, engine and advanced weapons capability development, and complex systems integration.
In addition, there are hundreds of dedicated engineers and technicians supporting the Royal Air Force every day to ensure readiness and availability of the RAF’s Typhoon fleet so that they can continue to protect our skies.
The sector has an annual turnover of more than £6bn. As a whole it is responsible for more than 85% of defence exports; supporting the UK’s international relationships; fulfilling agreements that underpin international security and defence with allies around the world.
In addition, defence exports deliver a major boost to the UK economy.
Typhoon plays a key role in protecting security and defence in Europe and the Middle East. The programme generates around £1bn annually to the UK economy and, thanks to its export success, has already returned more than double the UK Government’s initial investment.
In 2018 the UK Government launched its Combat Air Strategy; outlining a vision, framework and timeline to assess options for the UK’s future combat air requirements and associated decision making.
The strategy and the backing of the UK Government gave Industry the confidence to make significant investment into research and development and transform business practices.
An important outcome from that vision was an international programme to deliver Tempest, the UK’s next generation combat air fighter.
As leader(s) of the UK’s sovereign industry we play a key role in this long term programme, working in international partnership with Italy and Japan under the Global Combat Air Programme.
The requirement to design a fighter jet with the advanced systems, sensors, radar and weapons capability that will sufficiently protect us from future threats requires us to draw on decades of British aviation expertise from across the UK and create whole new systems and ways of working.
Consequently, even in this design phase before we begin development, it is already stimulating skills and supply chain involvement, with around 600 organisations engaged on the programme with the Team Tempest partners across the UK, including 91 SMEs and 26 academic institutions and 3,000 directed employed on the programme.
The impact of a commitment to this major programme will be significant, with long term economic benefit to the UK and its industrial base, supporting the development of other combat systems which will enhance our Air Power capability.
As we saw with the UK Government’s recent release of its Uncrewed Strategy for Defence, working with UK industry to develop indigenous capability is the key to drive innovation and our ability to export. Above all though this strategy will drive the next generation of capabilities that are so vital to supporting the armed forces.
Our recent acquisition of Malloy Aeronautics is one example of how that investment leads to a stronger and more resilient defence portfolio. This capability reflects the UK’s drive to be a leader in uncrewed systems and the Malloy T-150 uncrewed air system is already on deployed operations supporting the UK and other international allies.
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We cannot risk losing the broader benefits of our national combat air sector by favouring off-the-shelf options that cannot sustain this precious national asset.
Investment in sovereign combat air programmes such as Typhoon and Tempest stimulate the ecosystems that underpin our industrial base, and ensures the UK can continue to tailor its defence capabilities to meet evolving threats and operational requirements effectively.
Sovereign combat air power is the key to security in an uncertain world.
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