Central the UK’s investment into defence is the demand to generate economic opportunity for the country’s industry, from large defence primes to the small and medium enterprises that service both military and commercial sectors.
The increase in spending, from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with an eye on 3.0% at some point post-2029, is in indication that the UK is embarking on a rearmament programme in what is a fracturing global order.
The accuracy of £13bn ($16.3bn) increase claimed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer can be debated, but what is not uncertain is the need to harness the country’s defence industrial potential, for both defence as well as economic reasons.
ADS Group, which represents more than 1,400 companies from the UK’s aerospace, defence, security, and space sectors, calculated in 2023 that around 147,000 people were employed in the defence sector at that time, including nearly 7,000 apprentices.
Data published by the UK government in late-2024 stated its spending supported around 434,000 “good, well-paid jobs” across the country, equivalent to “1 in 60 UK jobs”.
Industry reacts to UK defence plan
Phil Siveter, CEO Thales in the UK, welcomed the move from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the planned increase in defence spending.
“What was abundantly clear in the Prime Minister’s statement was that the British defence industry must now step up and ensure that we are engineering, innovating, and manufacturing at the pace the country needs – and Thales is ready to do that,” Siveter told Army Technology.
“I am proud that Thales is present in all four nations of the UK, and we are supporting that economic and employment growth that the defence sector can bring,” he added.
Meanwhile, UK defence prime Babcock issued a statement on 26 February on the UK defence spend increase, highlighting the “opportunity to invest” in British companies and drive economic growth.
“We look forward to continuing this work with the government to ensure our armed forces have the equipment and services they need to protect our nation, both now and in the future,” the Babcock statement read.
BAE Systems, which employs more than 45,000 people across the country and has key involvement in programmes such as the ongoing AUKUS and Dreadnought submarine efforts, and the GCAP, Typhoon, and F-35 fighter initiatives, is another key example of a company primed to play a leading role in the UK’s defence growth agenda.
UK outlines defence intent
Published in December 2024, the Defence Industrial Strategy’s Statement of Intent outlined the aspirations that the UK government has in harnessing the potential of UK industry to develop and mature the sector and associated supply chains.
“We will prioritise UK businesses for defence investment and will reform procurement to reduce waste. We will support industry to benefit from export opportunities, in line with a robust arms export regime committed to upholding international law,” the statement read.
“We want to establish a mission-driven Defence Industrial Strategy that ensures defence contributes fully to the government’s number one mission: to drive UK economic growth.”
Much of the reformation of military procurement is already in motion, with the UK Ministry of Defence streamlining its approvals processes and installation of a National Armaments Director to manage the entire defence procurement portfolio.
The publication of the Strategic Defence Review and Defence Industrial Strategy in Spring 2025 will provide a significant amount of the granular detail as to how such growth is to be achieved, and the areas in which the UK’s defence industrial sector will be tasked with developing.
Apprenticeships crucial for next generation
February also saw the marking of National Apprenticeship Week, intended as a springboard into the various trades and industries across the country’s economy.
Two of the UK largest defence primes, BAE Systems and Babcock, are looking to continue to recruit to their businesses through 2025, following on from thousands of jobs created in 2024, with a particular emphasis on apprentices and early careers roles.
Speaking to Army Technology earlier in 2025, Babcock told Army Technology that it would “continue to invest in our c.25,500 strong global workforce”, with around 4,000 roles recruited in 2024. This included around 1,500 early careers roles in the business over the course of 2024 and through 2025.
In December 2024, Babcock announced the creation of almost 1,500 new apprentice and graduate roles, which followed an intake of more than 400 apprentices in 2024.
Babcock CEO, David Lockwood, said at the time that the 1,500 new early career roles would “support the UK’s defence”, and was the largest combined intake of its kind by the company.
Issuing a release in on 10 February to coincide with the start of National Apprentice Week, BAE Systems published details of research it had carried out among young people in the UK, which revealed the “growing appeal” of apprenticeships among the next generation of workers.
BAE Systems said the findings highlighted “a significant shift toward flexibility and apprenticeships being increasingly recognised as a pathway to secure and rewarding careers”, with respondents citing job security (28%), high starting salaries (28%) and hands-on training (23%) as the most appealing features.
BAE Systems is recruiting for more than 2,400 new apprentice, undergraduate and graduate roles in 2025, which will result in around 6,500 in training, making up approximately 15% of its UK workforce.
