1 In 2013-14, the Ministry of Defence (the Department) spent £13.9 billion buying and supporting military equipment. Over the next 10 years it plans to spend some £162.9 billion, as set out in its Equipment Plan 2014-2024.
2 Providing military equipment relies on a partnership between:
• the Department's head office, which gives strategic oversight;
• the Armed Forces (the commands), who say what equipment they need; and
• Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), which buys and maintains military equipment, known as defence acquisition.
3 Defence acquisition is complex and demanding. It requires close partnering with industry and often working with other governments on international collaborative defence projects.
4 In 2013-14 DE&S employed some 16,000 permanent members of staff, an estimated 3,400 contractors, and had running costs of £1.3 billion. DE&S needs specialist skills, such as commercial, financial, engineering, project and programme management and supplier management.