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Delivering the defence dividend

In March 2025, Oxford Economics independently reported on the contribution Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ makes to the UK economy, quantifying the scale of impact:

• £4.3²ú²Ô total contribution to the UK economy
• 67,000 jobs supported (equaling one in every 550 jobs in the UK)
• £550m spent with UK SMEs, supporting >3,800 businesses

These benefits are being felt across the country. In the South West, Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ contributes £1.3 billion to the region’s GDP each year, sustaining a total of nearly 21,500 jobs, and in Scotland, we spend over £150 million with Scottish suppliers and contribute £500 million to
Scotland’s GDP each year.

High-quality, skilled job creation is key, but we look beyond this to deliver further benefits to our employees and communities.

We are working with local partners across the UK to drive urban regeneration and backing Britain’s small businesses by spending £360m each year and supporting 6,200 jobs with UK SMEs.

We develop our workforce’s skills through our 1,800 apprenticeships and graduate roles, but we also develop the next generation of engineers and technicians through our STEM ambassador programme, reaching 1 in every 130 UK school children every year.

But it’s not just the immediate and future workforce we are supporting as we also aim to recruit those from underrepresented groups, including bringing more women and veterans into our workforce.

This is the defence dividend in action: a harmony between national and economic security that strengthens the UK’s defence industrial base and fosters prosperity in the communities we work in.