Latest news with #DefenceIndustrialStrategy
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The UK defense industry's biggest problem isn't just cash — it's also companies like Amazon
Like much of the world, the UK is ramping up its defense spending. But defense companies are now competing with an expanding talent-hungry tech sector for scarce skills. "We need a sea of talent," a defense sector insider told BI. "At the moment, it's a puddle." When Calvin Bailey — a member of the UK parliament — was a squadron commander in the country's Royal Air Force, he saw a shift in how his engineering-heavy workforce changed careers. In the early 2010s, people would leave the service "like for like," he told Business Insider — meaning they were leaving the military for complementary roles in the defense and aerospace industry. However, by around 2017, he said, a new sprawl of high-tech companies and major infrastructure projects created a demand for skills that the military had nurtured, such as robotics, advanced engineering, and logistics. Bailey wrote in a recent piece for War on the Rocks that he watched as the military "hemorrhaged" certified aircraft engineers. "I found myself competing with unlikely adversaries: Amazon logistics hubs," he wrote. As the UK attempts to redress the effects of decades of reduced military spending, it's not just a steep price tag that has experts worried. It's a shrunken — and highly competitive — skills pipeline. Bailey still doesn't think the UK is spending enough, he told BI. But even if the country throws money at it, "you haven't got the skills base with which to go and do the work that's required." Paul Oxley, a spokesperson for UK defense trade association ADS Group, told BI that demand for skilled workers now presents the defense industry's "largest barrier for growth." This covers everything from traditional skills like welding and high-end engineering, to growing fields like cybersecurity, digital, and AI capabilities. Oxley said that surveys of ADS members have seen the issue of talent leapfrog energy prices to become the top worry for many companies. These concerns come amid an increased commitment by the UK to defense spending — to 2.5% of GDP — that has defense-related industries looking out for new orders. Big projects are already in the works. Dreadnought-class submarines, the Tempest fighter jet, and Type 26 and 31 frigates are due to come into service in the next decade or so. Yet in March, Kevin Craven, the head of ADS Group, warned lawmakers that skills shortages are "combining to a point where both the defence and aerospace industry cannot fulfil the demand that they have." These warnings also come as the government prepares to publish its latest Defence Industrial Strategy, which a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said will help the UK have the "capability, skills and industrial resilience" for warfighting. Multiple skills initiatives are already underway, they added. The UK's defense sector pays an average of £39,900, Oxley said, which is about $53,000 and around 14% higher than the national average. But even that can't always compete with other sectors, Bailey, the MP, said. Meanwhile, many companies, like Amazon, actively recruit UK veterans as part of a government program pledging to support post-service careers. Amazon declined to comment when approached by BI. Bailey shared that other competing industries include infrastructure projects, such as the recent nationwide rollout of electric smart meters. He told BI those leaving the RAF for such companies "would find an easier job — because it's less regulated and controlled and demanding on their skills — paying equal or more than they would expect on the general market." In addition, security clearances make it hard to hire from abroad — and in any case, the UK's nearest European defense industry neighbors are themselves in a scramble for talent. The expansion of a talent-hungry tech sector compounds a much longer-running skills issue. Andrew Kinniburgh, a spokesperson for manufacturing industry trade body Make UK, told the Defence Select Committee in March that the country is in an "arms race" for engineers. Campaigners say STEM has been neglected from the earliest schooldays up, causing a shortage that has seen all sectors — not just military — competing for talent. That situation wasn't helped by the Apprenticeship Levy, a 2016 attempt to invigorate private sector investment in training. It was so cumbersome that schemes fell by 172,000 across all sectors in its first year, according to HR industry body CIPD. The government now says it's streamlining the process. Industry experts told BI that another reason defense sector workforce skills have atrophied is a long-term lack of investment in the military that began in the 1990s. The defense ministry spokesperson told BI that the current government is addressing the country's security "after years of hollowing out." People like naval architects and high-level engineers take decades to nurture, and when orders dry up, "you have skill fade in these areas quite quickly," said Sam Cranny-Evans, a freelance defense analyst and associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. "Once they're gone, they're gone," he told BI. "Standing them up again is really hard." COVID-19 lockdowns haven't helped. Suddenly, people with 10 to 15 years left in their careers decided to accelerate their retirement plans, leaving what Oxley called a "handover cliff edge" and a decadelong knowledge gap. The problem has come to a head before. In the early 2000s, BAE Systems took over a contract to produce the Astute-class submarine, following a 10-year gap since the development of the earlier Vanguard-class sub. Dated skills — among other factors — became a major problem, forcing the UK to bring in General Dynamics Electric Boat, a US company, to help at an eventual cost of about $145 million. The project ran years late, exceeded its budget by hundreds of millions of pounds, and spurred multiple reckonings that still reverberate today. Janet Garner, BAE Systems' future workforce director for submarines, told BI the company is focused on ensuring it has a strong submarine workforce. She highlighted its $33.5-million training center and said early careers programs are "up to record levels." An analysis by Navy Lookout highlighted lessons learned, saying that the next-generation Dreadnought went into production with a much more experienced workforce. But across the industry, there's a long road ahead. Oxley and Bailey say there's a lot more to be done, and that skills need to be addressed at the level of education. Both are calling for schools and colleges to develop applied STEM curricula showcasing the appeal of working in defense. Encouraging a much more flexible career structure, allowing people to "zig-zag" between the military and civilian sectors and making the relationship complementary rather than competitive, is also among the suggestions being made. Tan Dhesi, a lawmaker heading up the UK parliament's Defence Select Committee, declined to comment in detail while the inquiries continue, but said that he had seen "clear and consistent" evidence that the issue needs addressing. "We need a sea of talent," Oxley said. "At the moment, it's a puddle." Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
27-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
The UK defense industry's biggest problem isn't just cash — it's also companies like Amazon
Like much of the world, the UK is ramping up its defense spending. But defense companies are now competing with an expanding talent-hungry tech sector for scarce skills. "We need a sea of talent," a defense sector insider told BI. "At the moment, it's a puddle." When Calvin Bailey — a member of the UK parliament — was a squadron commander in the country's Royal Air Force, he saw a shift in how his engineering-heavy workforce changed careers. In the early 2010s, people would leave the service "like for like," he told Business Insider — meaning they were leaving the military for complementary roles in the defense and aerospace industry. However, by around 2017, he said, a new sprawl of high-tech companies and major infrastructure projects created a demand for skills that the military had nurtured, such as robotics, advanced engineering, and logistics. Bailey wrote in a recent piece for War on the Rocks that he watched as the military "hemorrhaged" certified aircraft engineers. "I found myself competing with unlikely adversaries: Amazon logistics hubs," he wrote. As the UK attempts to redress the effects of decades of reduced military spending, it's not just a steep price tag that has experts worried. It's a shrunken — and highly competitive — skills pipeline. Bailey still doesn't think the UK is spending enough, he told BI. But even if the country throws money at it, "you haven't got the skills base with which to go and do the work that's required." A skills shortage in the defense industry Paul Oxley, a spokesperson for UK defense trade association ADS Group, told BI that demand for skilled workers now presents the defense industry's "largest barrier for growth." This covers everything from traditional skills like welding and high-end engineering, to growing fields like cybersecurity, digital, and AI capabilities. Oxley said that surveys of ADS members have seen the issue of talent leapfrog energy prices to become the top worry for many companies. These concerns come amid an increased commitment by the UK to defense spending — to 2.5% of GDP — that has defense-related industries looking out for new orders. Big projects are already in the works. Dreadnought-class submarines, the Tempest fighter jet, and Type 26 and 31 frigates are due to come into service in the next decade or so. Yet in March, Kevin Craven, the head of ADS Group, warned lawmakers that skills shortages are "combining to a point where both the defence and aerospace industry cannot fulfil the demand that they have." These warnings also come as the government prepares to publish its latest Defence Industrial Strategy, which a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said will help the UK have the "capability, skills and industrial resilience" for warfighting. Multiple skills initiatives are already underway, they added. An 'arms race' for skills The UK's defense sector pays an average of £39,900, Oxley said, which is about $53,000 and around 14% higher than the national average. But even that can't always compete with other sectors, Bailey, the MP, said. Meanwhile, many companies, like Amazon, actively recruit UK veterans as part of a government program pledging to support post-service careers. Amazon declined to comment when approached by BI. Bailey shared that other competing industries include infrastructure projects, such as the recent nationwide rollout of electric smart meters. He told BI those leaving the RAF for such companies "would find an easier job — because it's less regulated and controlled and demanding on their skills — paying equal or more than they would expect on the general market." In addition, security clearances make it hard to hire from abroad — and in any case, the UK's nearest European defense industry neighbors are themselves in a scramble for talent. A shortage decades in the making The expansion of a talent-hungry tech sector compounds a much longer-running skills issue. Andrew Kinniburgh, a spokesperson for manufacturing industry trade body Make UK, told the Defence Select Committee in March that the country is in an "arms race" for engineers. Campaigners say STEM has been neglected from the earliest schooldays up, causing a shortage that has seen all sectors — not just military — competing for talent. That situation wasn't helped by the Apprenticeship Levy, a 2016 attempt to invigorate private sector investment in training. It was so cumbersome that schemes fell by 172,000 across all sectors in its first year, according to HR industry body CIPD. The government now says it's streamlining the process. The looming threat of 'skill fade' Industry experts told BI that another reason defense sector workforce skills have atrophied is a long-term lack of investment in the military that began in the 1990s. The defense ministry spokesperson told BI that the current government is addressing the country's security "after years of hollowing out." People like naval architects and high-level engineers take decades to nurture, and when orders dry up, "you have skill fade in these areas quite quickly," said Sam Cranny-Evans, a freelance defense analyst and associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. "Once they're gone, they're gone," he told BI. "Standing them up again is really hard." COVID-19 lockdowns haven't helped. Suddenly, people with 10 to 15 years left in their careers decided to accelerate their retirement plans, leaving what Oxley called a "handover cliff edge" and a decadelong knowledge gap. The problem has come to a head before. In the early 2000s, BAE Systems took over a contract to produce the Astute-class submarine, following a 10-year gap since the development of the earlier Vanguard-class sub. Dated skills — among other factors — became a major problem, forcing the UK to bring in General Dynamics Electric Boat, a US company, to help at an eventual cost of about $145 million. The project ran years late, exceeded its budget by hundreds of millions of pounds, and spurred multiple reckonings that still reverberate today. Janet Garner, BAE Systems' future workforce director for submarines, told BI the company is focused on ensuring it has a strong submarine workforce. She highlighted its $33.5-million training center and said early careers programs are "up to record levels." An analysis by Navy Lookout highlighted lessons learned, saying that the next-generation Dreadnought went into production with a much more experienced workforce. But across the industry, there's a long road ahead. A 'puddle' of talent Oxley and Bailey say there's a lot more to be done, and that skills need to be addressed at the level of education. Both are calling for schools and colleges to develop applied STEM curricula showcasing the appeal of working in defense. Encouraging a much more flexible career structure, allowing people to "zig-zag" between the military and civilian sectors and making the relationship complementary rather than competitive, is also among the suggestions being made. Tan Dhesi, a lawmaker heading up the UK parliament's Defence Select Committee, declined to comment in detail while the inquiries continue, but said that he had seen "clear and consistent" evidence that the issue needs addressing. "We need a sea of talent," Oxley said. "At the moment, it's a puddle."
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Innovative British Army radio waves weapon neutralises drone swarm
A British Army radio wave trial has taken down a drone swarm for the first time. In what was the largest counter-drone swarm exercise British soldiers have been involved with to date, the soldiers successfully tracked, targeted and defeated the drone attack by using a new directed energy weapon which has been developed in the UK. The trial, which was recently completed at a weapons range in west Wales, applied a type of radiofrequency directed energy weapon (RF DEW) which has proven capable of neutralising multiple targets simultaneously with near-instant effect. The device's high frequency radio waves disrupt or damage electronic components inside the drones, which then causes them to crash or malfunction. RF DEW systems, which the Government has invested more than £40 million into researching, can defeat airborne targets at ranges of up to 1km and are effective against threats which cannot be jammed using electronic warfare. Successful experiments included the Army taking down two swarms of drones in a single engagement, while the project saw more than 100 drones being tracked, engaged and defeated using the weapon across all trials. Sgt Mayers, a senior remotely-piloted air systems operator from 106 Regiment Royal Artillery, was the first British soldier to bring down drones using a radiofrequency weapon. He said: 'RF DEW is an exciting concept. We found the demonstrator quick to learn and easy to use. With improvements on range and power, which could come with further development, this would be a great asset to Layered Air Defence.' It costs just 10p to fire each shot, which the Ministry of Defence has said would provide a cost-effective complement to traditional missile-based air defence systems. The successful trial comes as drone swarms are increasingly seen in use in front-line combat in Ukraine. Ukraine had to defend against attacks from more than 18,000 drones last year, according to UK Defence Intelligence. The Government will spend at least 10 per cent of the MoD's equipment procurement spend on novel technologies from 2025-26 as part of its Plan for Change, which will see improved national security. Earlier this year, John Healey, the Defence Secretary, pledged to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by April 2027. Maria Eagle, the minister for defence procurement and industry, said: 'This significant experiment exemplifies the strength of British innovation – driven by our home-grown industry, technology firms and scientific talent. 'We continue to strengthen our defence sector, adding more cutting-edge capabilities to keep the UK secure at home and strong abroad, while making defence an engine for growth across our towns and cities.' The development of RF DEW systems could protect the UK from disruption at airports and unidentified drones at security sensitive areas such as defence bases. The systems also support the Defence Industrial Strategy, helping the UK face global threats. Nigel MacVean, managing director of Thales Integrated Airspace-protection Systems, which led the development of the RF DEW demonstrator, said: 'Thales continues to be at the forefront of this pioneering technology, and we are proud to continue the research and development in this sector alongside our partners in government.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
17-04-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
Innovative British Army radio waves weapon neutralises drone swarm
A British Army radio wave trial has taken down a drone swarm for the first time. In what was the largest counter-drone swarm exercise British soldiers have been involved with to date, the soldiers successfully tracked, targeted and defeated the drone attack by using a new directed energy weapon which has been developed in the UK. The trial, which was recently completed at a weapons range in west Wales, applied a type of radiofrequency directed energy weapon (RF DEW) which has proven capable of neutralising multiple targets simultaneously with near-instant effect. The device's high frequency radio waves disrupt or damage electronic components inside the drones, which then causes them to crash or malfunction. RF DEW systems, which the Government has invested more than £40 million into researching, can defeat airborne targets at ranges of up to 1km and are effective against threats which cannot be jammed using electronic warfare. Successful experiments included the Army taking down two swarms of drones in a single engagement, while the project saw more than 100 drones being tracked, engaged and defeated using the weapon across all trials. Sgt Mayers, a senior remotely-piloted air systems operator from 106 Regiment Royal Artillery, was the first British soldier to bring down drones using a radiofrequency weapon. He said: 'RF DEW is an exciting concept. We found the demonstrator quick to learn and easy to use. With improvements on range and power, which could come with further development, this would be a great asset to Layered Air Defence.' It costs just 10p to fire each shot, which the Ministry of Defence has said would provide a cost-effective complement to traditional missile-based air defence systems. The successful trial comes as drone swarms are increasingly seen in use in front-line combat in Ukraine. Ukraine had to defend against attacks from more than 18,000 drones last year, according to UK Defence Intelligence. 'This experiment exemplifies British innovation' The Government will spend at least 10 per cent of the MoD's equipment procurement spend on novel technologies from 2025-26 as part of its Plan for Change, which will see improved national security. Earlier this year, John Healey, the Defence Secretary, pledged to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by April 2027. Maria Eagle, the minister for defence procurement and industry, said: 'This significant experiment exemplifies the strength of British innovation – driven by our home-grown industry, technology firms and scientific talent. 'We continue to strengthen our defence sector, adding more cutting-edge capabilities to keep the UK secure at home and strong abroad, while making defence an engine for growth across our towns and cities.' The development of RF DEW systems could protect the UK from disruption at airports and unidentified drones at security sensitive areas such as defence bases. The systems also support the Defence Industrial Strategy, helping the UK face global threats. Nigel MacVean, managing director of Thales Integrated Airspace-protection Systems, which led the development of the RF DEW demonstrator, said: 'Thales continues to be at the forefront of this pioneering technology, and we are proud to continue the research and development in this sector alongside our partners in government.'
