Confidence in UK

''There is one thing I hope each and every one of you will take back home at the end of this week, and that's confidence in the strength of great British industry.'' Those were the words of the Minister for Defence Procurement, Anne- Marie Trevelyan, speaking in the opening keynote address of DSEI 2019. The minister further highlighted the confidence that is engendered by the nation's highly skilled service personnel and innovative industry teams.

The address ended with a call to encourage more women into the defence industry, while reiterating the vision for improved and more accessible education in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) field.

In terms of equipment, the minister made note of the UK's resurgent maritime capability, represented by the progress being made by the two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, and the City-class and Type 31 frigates. In the air domain, the Tempest sixth-generation fighter programme was singled out as an example of UK technological innovation and industrial leadership.

During the address the minister also announced a number of contracts, including £177 million for five companies (BAE Systems, Babcock, Griffon Hoverwork, Holyhead Marine and Marine Specialised Technology) to provide Boats In-Service Support (BISS) running through to 2026. QinetiQ landed a £67 million contract from the MoD's Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) to develop anti-spoof, anti-jam multi-constellation satellite receivers as part of the UK's Robust Global Navigation System (R-GNS) programme.

Elbit Systems UK subsidiary Ferranti Technologies has been awarded a £30.8 million order for a Joint Fires Synthetic Training system.