Written question asked by Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party) on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 July 2026. It was answered by Luke Pollard (Labour) on Friday, 17 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Defence: Manufacturing Industries

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support is being provided to defence manufacturers to innovate and maintain global competitiveness.

Answer: The Defence Industrial Strategy promotes deeper collaboration with allies through co-research, co-development, and co-production, enabling UK firms to share costs, access larger markets, and deliver interoperable capabilities. It emphasises alignment with NATO standards and allied procurement approaches to facilitate exports and provides clearer long-term demand signals to give UK industry confidence to invest and innovate successfully alongside allied firms.

Secondary information