The UK’s defence industry is entering a period of significant ambition – new technologies, strategic alliances, and growing investment all point towards a more capable and future-ready sector.
But ambition alone doesn’t deliver.
As someone who’s worked in and around defence programme delivery for many years, I’ve seen the growing gap between ambition and capability. Workforce shortages, security vetting delays, overstretched supply chains, and outdated procurement models continue to constrain our ability to deliver at the pace and scale required.
This article is a call for pragmatic disruption – not just from policymakers, but from within industry itself. It outlines the five core challenges we must tackle and proposes focused actions to ensure the UK retains its capability, strengthens its security, and remains a global leader in defence systems engineering and advanced manufacturing.
1. Closing the Skills Gap – Before It Widens Further
We talk a lot about innovation, but it’s hard to innovate without the right people in the room. The UK engineering sector faces an acute talent shortage, with 20% of its workforce set to retire within five years. We’ll need up to one million additional engineers across all industries by 2030 – and defence will be a major part of that demand.
Too many engineering graduates enter the workforce without hands-on experience in high-assurance, defence-grade applications. Meanwhile, career changers and contractors face barriers to entry due to clearance constraints and lack of structured upskilling.
If we’re serious about sovereign capability, we need a coordinated approach to workforce development.
That means:
- Expanding STEM returners programmes and apprenticeships tailored to defence.
- Creating on-the-job training pathways that allow cross-sector talent to transition into critical roles.
- Making the defence sector more inclusive and attractive to a broader demographic, including underrepresented groups and off-payroll workers.
2. Reforming Vetting Without Compromising Security
Security clearance delays are a well-known frustration across defence. UK Security Vetting (UKSV) has made efforts to improve efficiency, but limited funding and growing demand continue to stretch timelines – delaying project onboarding and deterring new entrants.
Of course, vetting must be robust. But we can’t let process inflexibility stand in the way of delivery. A digital-first, agile approach to clearance is urgently needed.
Recommendations include:
- Streamlining and standardising baseline checks across departments.
- Introducing digital vetting tools to enhance security and processing speed.
- Developing “conditional clearance” models that enable low-risk, early-stage access while full clearance is in progress.
The risk of delay now outweighs the risk of reform. If we can’t move quickly, we risk losing talent and momentum to more agile sectors.
3. Helping Procurement Unlock Innovation
Defence procurement is intricate and complex – and for good reason. High stakes and long lifecycles demand thoroughness. But thoroughness cannot come at the cost of progress.
Traditional frameworks still favour large primes over SMEs, despite the fact that many of the most innovative and agile solutions are being developed by smaller players. Meanwhile, emerging technologies like AI, quantum, and digital twins require more adaptable, outcomes-focused procurement models to support rapid adoption.
To support the procurement evolution, we need to:
- Simplify contracting processes for SMEs and enable co-creation with primes.
- Incorporate innovation gateways into frameworks like DSP and CCS to allow trial, pilot, and scaling phases within a single procurement cycle.
- Align procurement timelines with technology lifecycles, not policy cycles.
AUKUS and similar initiatives demand faster, more collaborative innovation. Our procurement approach must evolve to match.
4. Adapting to Industry 5.0 – and Looking Ahead
Industry 5.0 is here – and it’s redefining what it means to be a modern defence manufacturer. Unlike Industry 4.0, which focused on automation and efficiency, Industry 5.0 emphasises human-machine collaboration, ethical AI, environmental sustainability, and societal value.
In practice, that means:
- Using digital twin technology to simulate and optimise defence systems in real time.
- Applying predictive maintenance to critical infrastructure using machine learning and real-time sensor data.
- Building cyber-resilient architectures that support adaptive, modular design.
While these technologies are promising, the real challenge lies in adoption – not availability. We need cross-sector collaboration, faster prototyping pathways, and leadership willing to invest beyond the headline tech.
And just over the horizon? Early discussions are already underway around Industry 6.0 – encompassing decentralised production, quantum-driven systems, and hyper-personalised engineering. The UK should be leading that conversation, not catching up to it.
5. Building Supply Chains for Resilience, Not Just Cost
The events of recent years – from geopolitical shifts to global pandemics – have exposed the fragility of traditional defence supply chains. Long lead times, sole-source dependencies, and offshore vulnerabilities are now business-critical risks.
The UK’s Defence Supply Chain Strategy rightly calls for greater resilience. That means:
- Diversifying suppliers and nearshoring key components.
- Investing in modular systems that can be easily upgraded or reconfigured.
- Prioritising supply chain security and sovereignty in procurement decisions.
We must move beyond short-term cost-efficiency and start designing supply chains for strategic advantage. That includes actively supporting UK-based SMEs that contribute critical components and services.
Final Thoughts: From Delivery to Leadership
The UK defence industry has the opportunity – and the responsibility – to lead. But doing so requires more than delivering programmes. It means modernising the way we think about people, processes, and technology. It means being willing to challenge the status quo.
Because if we want to strengthen national security, drive economic growth, and reinforce our global standing, we can’t afford to delay the transformation that’s needed.
At Positiv+ Cohort, we’re already working with defence partners to solve some of these challenges – whether it’s accelerating delivery, adapting to new technologies, or navigating complex programme demands.
If this resonates with your experience – or if you’re tackling similar challenges and looking for fresh ideas – I’d welcome the conversation.
Photo attribution: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.