Supporting the armed forces community and their families reflects our company’s purpose and allows us to recognise the vital contribution they make to our national security. Our support for the armed forces community includes partnering with charitable organisations to support veterans, serving personnel, their families and heritage institutions through community investment. We are also committed to being a preferred employer for service leavers and reservists. We recognise the exceptional talent within the armed forces and aim to be a top choice for those transitioning to civilian careers.
The Armed Forces Covenant is an important national promise to support all those in military service, as well as their families, veterans, reservists and cadet force adult volunteers. It aims to ensure that those who serve or have served in the armed forces and their families, are treated fairly.
We were one of the first signatories in 2013 and we hold a Gold Award in the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme. The covenant inspires us to go further in our support for the armed forces family.
Supporting veterans
ForcesNet is our employee-led group for more than 2,600 ex-forces personnel, reservists, Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAVs) and their colleague allies. It offers camaraderie, mentoring and coaching for armed forces leavers as they transition into new careers at BAE Systems. Many veterans describe joining BAE Systems as feeling like they are coming home.
In the UK, we work closely with the Careers Transition Partnership sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and we were jointly named in the top two ‘Employer of the Year’ for 2025 and 2026 at the British Forces in Business Awards.
Investing in cadets
We believe the UK’s cadet forces play a vital role in communities across the UK, motivating young people and equipping them with life skills. Our commitment to the cadets includes supporting our 125 Cadet Forces Adult Volunteers (CFAV) employees by giving them up to 15 days paid leave a year to fulfil their duties. The CFAVs at BAE Systems are a fast-growing group having formed a peer support network within the Company to connect and share ideas.
We’re connecting our existing STEM outreach with cadet programmes like the annual National Air & Space Camp. We’re also a long-term supporter of The Ulysses Trust, giving £50,000 each year to help young people facing social and economic barriers enjoy adventurous pursuits such as sailing, trekking, climbing and canoeing. Another partnership - with X-Forces Enterprise – Cadets in Enterprise, Soldiering On Academy – will see our employees mentoring cadets to develop their business ideas and entrepreneurial skills.
Supporting reservists
We currently employ over 160 reservists in the UK, making us the second-highest employer of reservists among Gold Award Recipients of the Armed Forces Covenant. As part of our pledge to the Armed Forces Covenant, we fully support our employees who are volunteering as reservists by accommodating their training obligations and provide an extra 15 days of special leave specifically for this purpose. For those reservists who are mobilised, we also ensure there is a supporting system in place, to allow them to deploy and return in an efficient manner.
Supporting military charities
We proudly work with military charities to make a positive impact and preserve national military heritage. Over the past five years, we have committed more than £18m globally to the armed forces community, directly via donations and sponsorships and through employee volunteering and fundraising. In the UK, we supported many military charities and their work, including making a commitment of £400,000 to the Royal British Legion’s BattleBack Centre and Admiral Nurse Service – a specialist service helping the armed forces community and their families living with dementia.
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