Defence Secretary Visits ADS Member Reaction Engines as Part of Major Announcement on Driving Innovation in Defence
Secretary of State for Defence, Sir Michael Fallon, has announced in a major speech at the University of Oxford the formation of a world class Panel which will help challenge and drive the Ministry of Defence’s innovation agenda.
Addressing engineering students, academics, and apprentices, Sir Michael Fallon announced three members of the new Defence Innovation Advisory Panel. The Panel will be charged with driving forward the MOD’s Innovation Initiative, which aims to encourage imagination, ingenuity and entrepreneurship, in pursuit of maintaining a military advantage in the future.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said: “Backed by an £800M innovation fund, we want to transform defence and work with small firms, academics and others to find solutions to the threats to our security.
“This panel of world class innovators will bring their drive and expert insights to the vital task of keeping the UK ahead of our adversaries and boosting our prosperity.”
Major Tim Peake, the first British astronaut at the European Space Agency, is one of the panel members to be announced. Businessman and former Chairman of McLaren Technology Group Ron Dennis, and Robert Hannigan, recently retired GCHQ Director, all join him.
Major Tim Peake said: “I’m delighted to be part of the Ministry of Defence’s drive to place innovation at the heart of everything they do, and to bring my experience to the effort to improve the technology, organisation, and culture that keep the UK safe.”
SMEs at the heart of innovation
SMEs are at the heart of the Innovation Initiative and the Defence Secretary visited ADS Member company, Reaction Engines before taking part in an Innovation Roundtable with industry representatives, academics, think tanks, and senior policy-makers. The goal is to work more effectively with businesses and academics across the UK – and particularly with SMEs which might not normally think of themselves as Defence suppliers.
Reaction Engines is a global leader in aerospace propulsion and is currently designing and developing technologies for the next generation of air and space vehicles, with the potential to enable hypersonic flight and transform space access.
Paul Everitt, CEO of ADS Group comments: “I am delighted that SMEs are at the heart of this announcement; their agility and ingenuity is vital to the development of the innovation needed by the UK’s armed forces. Not only does innovation set UK companies apart in tough global markets but it drives up productivity, enabling companies to increase their valuable contribution to national prosperity as well as security.
“This announcement demonstrates that the MOD is continuing to deliver against its commitment to support innovation as outlined in 2015’s Strategic Defence and Security Review.”
Innovative Unmanned Technology
The Defence Secretary also announced the launch of a two year £8 million second phase of innovative research and development, exploring the future of unmanned air systems. Developed in partnership with Leonardo Helicopters, the Rotary Wing Unmanned Air Systems (RWUAS) Capability Concept Demonstrator will be a vital tool in discovering how unmanned air systems can support our personnel on the battlefield of the future by developing new concepts and technologies.
The jointly funded programme will use the specialist engineering skill base at Leonardo Helicopters by exploring emerging technologies and methods.