Acquisition of military equipment requires an effective partnership between the MoD and industry since the Department itself neither conducts detailed design work, nor undertakes any production of the equipment that it procures. The presence of an advanced defence industry in the UK provides a means by which the MoD can readily access technical expertise and ensures that innovations can consistently be incorporated into equipment for use by the UK Armed Forces.
Besides delivering required military capability, industrial providers of military equipment also help generate employment - both directly and through the large network of suppliers with whom they engage. Typically, these manufacturing jobs are in highly skilled sectors and, as such, are the types of employment that the government seeks to ensure are maintained in the UK. The investments made by industrial providers in order to meet the UK's military requirements also lead to technology developments that can be leveraged more generally and can generate exports of highly value-added goods that contribute significantly to the balance of payments.
The UK's Defence industry, therefore, plays an important role not only in the MoD's acquisition process, but also in the nation's overall economic prosperity. In this context, this Review has sought take industrial consequences of acquisition into account and has engaged with industry directly to ensure that their views are appropriately represented and balanced with those of the Department.
In the next section the formal arrangements which frame the relationship between the MoD and industry, the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) is considered, and its merits and the success of its delivery are discussed.