At BAE Systems we take seriously our role in contributing to defence readiness through the delivery of leading defence technologies that protect against current and future threats. This delivery relies on our sustained investment in skills, technology and facilities, as well as deep collaboration across the defence ecosystem of primes, small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), universities and other partners.
Sir Stuart Atha
From ambition to delivery
Amidst the greatest levels of geopolitical uncertainty we’ve seen in decades, we face an immediate and exacting question: can our NATO defence ecosystem deliver at the pace and scale this moment demands – and can we show, not just say, that we are more ready today than we were yesterday?
Across NATO-aligned industries, that is now the defining test. Four years of war in Ukraine has revealed much about the level of risk that sits inside military plans. Risk that stems from dependencies based on flawed assumptions about industry. Much of this arises from both the scale and pace of support that warfighters need from their industrial partners. What was once planned over years now unfolds in months, sometimes even weeks, days or hours and at a magnitude not considered or funded in the post-Cold War era.
That shift exposes a simple reality. Across NATO, our models for procurement, industrial capacity and delivery were built in a different era. Security depends on the readiness, resilience and ability of governments, industry and partners to move together faster, and translate increased investment into deployable capability, industrial capacity and operational advantage.
NIAG and the role of industry in delivery
The NATO Industrial Advisory Group sits at the centre of this challenge. Its purpose is to connect NATO’s ambition with industrial delivery, helping inform capability requirements, and align demand signals with the capacity to deliver at scale across the alliance.
The Plenary in Portsmouth, under the theme “Ready and Resilient Together,” is therefore more than a moment of dialogue. For the first time this century, the UK is hosting this working forum—bringing together Government officials, military leaders and senior industrialists from NATO allies and partners. Together their objective is to enhance NATO’s readiness and resilience by strengthening NATO’s defence and technological industrial base and improving how capability is developed, integrated and delivered.
At BAE Systems we take seriously our role in contributing to defence readiness through the delivery of leading defence technologies that protect against current and future threats. This delivery relies on our sustained investment in skills, technology and facilities, as well as deep collaboration across the defence ecosystem of primes, small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), universities and other partners.
Delivering at pace: proof through action
Despite the challenges we all face, progress is being made when urgency, clarity and partnership come together. At BAE Systems, we are seeing what is possible when timelines are compressed and aligned to operational need. We have taken a precision-guided weapon from concept to live firing trials in four months. We designed, built and sea-tested Herne, the UK’s first extra-large autonomous submarine, in 11 months.
More broadly, our work reflects three consistent priorities.
Delivering relevant, combat ready capability
From combat air to uncrewed systems, from cyber to electronic warfare, capability must perform in the most testing of operational conditions. This includes our support to Ukraine—both through deployed systems and through the repair and sustainment of critical platforms provided by Allied nations.
Delivering at pace, in partnership
We are working closely with governments, armed forces and partners across the UK and internationally to accelerate development and integration. This includes support for multinational programmes such as the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) and AUKUS, transatlantic collaboration and deep engagement with SMEs and supply chains—ensuring interoperability is built in from the outset.
Investing to scale and sustain
Since 2020, we have invested more than £4bn in our systems and facilities, including close to £1bn of capital expenditure in 2025 alone, while increasing our workforce by more than 20,000 people across the Group.
At the same time, we have increased self-funded R&D by 70% since 2020 to around £400m in 2025, focused on high-technology areas such as autonomy, cyber, electronic warfare, counter-drone systems, synthetic training and space. These investments are helping us boost capacity, enhance productivity, support supply chain resilience and deliver the advanced capabilities our customers need today and in the future.
From Portsmouth to Ankara: building momentum
The NIAG Plenary sits at a critical point ahead of the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara. The expectation is clear: progress must be demonstrated—in increased production, stronger industrial cooperation and clearer pathways from investment to capability.
That requires a continued focus on closing the gap between ambition and delivery, simplifying the path from innovation to acquisition, strengthening mechanisms like the strategically significant Defence Production Action Plan, and ensuring that demand signals translate into output at scale.
NATO’s Secretary General said in 2023, ‘Without industry there is no deterrence, no defence and no security’. To this we should add, there is no deterrence without delivery, and no delivery without trusted partnerships. The NIAG Plenary will therefore apply particular focus to delivery and partnership. We know from many years of successful collaboration that effective partnerships depend on trust; and trust is built on consistent performance—through capability that works, at the pace required, and delivers the competitive edge when it matters most. The best way, indeed, the only way to move forward, is together.