Scottish Secretary to chair summit to ‘turbocharge’ Scotland’s defence industry

The Scottish Secretary will chair a summit involving the army and defence leaders on Thursday in a bid to “turbocharge” Scotland’s defence industry.

Ian Murray will work with defence leaders to create a blueprint for expanding the scale of the sector in Scotland.

It comes on the same day that figures from ADS – the trade organisation representing firms in the UK aerospace, defence, security and space sectors – revealed Scottish business in the industry produced £8 billion in turnover last year.

That is up from £7.3 billion last year.

ADS said this year’s turnover added £3.3 billion to the Scottish economy.

The UK Government said Thursday’s meeting will focus on growth as well as closer collaboration with the defence sector.

Thousands of troops are based in Scotland and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) spends £2.14 billion in the country annually.

The UK Government said this directly supports 11,000 jobs and thousands more across the supply chain.

The Scotland Office said it would use the summit to boost its Brand Scotland campaign to sell Scotland and Scottish business around the world.

The meeting will also look at how the defence sector can attract workers with transferable skills from industries facing redundancy or economic shocks as well as opportunities for transitioning veterans into the defence workforce post-service.

Mr Murray said: “Economic growth and national security are UK Government priorities and the skills, expertise and innovation in Scotland’s defence industry will play a crucial role in delivering our Plan for Change.

“A month after the Defence Industrial Strategy consultation launch, we are ramping up engagement with industry, working in partnership to tackle shared challenges and quickly identify opportunities to innovate.

“Recently I’ve had the privilege of visiting the Rosyth-built aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, in the North Sea and Clyde-built offshore patrol vessel, HMS Spey, in Singapore, meeting Scottish service personnel serving on ships built in Scotland, defending UK interests around the world.

“I am proud of Scotland’s defence sector and we will always stand up for the industry, its workforce, and the vital role it plays at home and abroad.

“Our new Brand Scotland campaign will seek to build on that success and help the sector export its world class technology around the world.”

ADS said more people continued to work in the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors in Scotland each year.

Its figures for 2023 showed there were 35,500 people working in these industries alongside 2,000 apprentices.

That is up 2,000 and 500 respectively from the previous year.

Warrick Malcolm, ADS Scotland director, said: “Scotland’s history of manufacturing excellence is world-renowned, and our globally leading industries are critical to social, economic and national security in the region.

“ADS Scotland is proud to work with colleagues across Westminster, Holyrood, the unions and industry to deliver on our responsibilities to our people.

“Ultimately, careers in advanced manufacturing are well-paid, highly skilled and offer an abundance of opportunity to our society.”