The council will look to improve collaboration between industry and government.

The UK’s first Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC) meeting has taken place in a move set to align government and industry decision-making, a 9 June UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) press release has revealed.

Fresh on the heels of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR), the council was held in London and co-chaired by Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey, and BAE Systems CEO Charles Woodburn.

Attendants included primes, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), tech firms, trade unions, and investors, with specific organisations including Airbus, Babcock, Hadean, Helsing, Lockheed Martin UK, the NATO Innovation Fund, Palantir, and Rolls-Royce.

Improving the UK’s “warfighting readiness” and “defence innovation” was the key focus of the first meeting, the UK MoD said, aligning closely with the key themes of the SDR.

Industry and investors will benefit from this new partnership with government, the MoD added, improving decision-making and communication between the public and private sectors.

The DIJC is replacing the former Defence Suppliers Forum, putting in its place a “wider and more diverse” set of defence expertise that will foreground the role of SMEs, trade unions, and investors.

“It is an honour to co-chair the inaugural meeting of the Defence Industrial Joint Council, through which we can forge a new and improved partnership between government and industry”, Healey commented.

“I am proud that this council brings together, for the first time, the full range of voices across UK defence. UK defence is open for business and driving defence as an engine for economic growth, boosting British jobs across the UK”, Healey added.

Woodburn also commented on the important role of the DIJC in aligning industry ahead of the UK government’s impending Defence Industrial Strategy expected later this month.

DSEI Gateway News is part of DSEI UK and the broader Clarion Defence portfolio. 
Enjoy reading this article?  Click here to read more about our upcoming DSEI membership offering...