As UK defence adapts to an increasingly complex security environment, the speed and agility of manufacturing is crucial – but equally important is the infrastructure to house it. It must be resilient, adaptable and operationally effective – and most importantly of all, delivered quickly.
Drawing on insights from a D Group roundtable co-partnered with McLaughlin & Harvey, this paper argues that accelerating defence construction requires more than increased investment. It demonstrates that bringing construction contractors into the process earlier is essential to accelerating delivery. Other contributing factors, such as agile procurement, stronger collaboration across government and industry, and clearer long-term demand signals for the supply chain, will be key to keeping up with the pace required. Crucially, there is now an imperative to move quickly towards this more collaborative delivery model if the UK is to deliver infrastructure at the speed demanded today.
The discussion revealed a shared ambition across the MOD, DIO and industry to transform defence infrastructure delivery. Reflecting that collective ambition, this paper sets out the key challenges, highlights opportunities for reform and identifies practical actions to accelerate delivery.
Read the full report here.
