Britain recorded its strongest year for defence exports since statistics began in 1983, with more than £20 billion in agreements concluded in 2025, the Ministry of Defence said on 26 December. The department linked the performance to priorities set in the Strategic Defence Review.
Norway’s selection of the UK’s Type 26 frigate in a contract valued at about £10 billion is the year’s anchor deal. Oslo will acquire at least five ships, largely built in Glasgow by BAE Systems, with the package expected to support thousands of jobs across the UK supply chain, according to Associated Press and government briefings at the time of signing.
In December, London and Oslo formalised naval cooperation through the Lunna House Agreement, committing both navies to operate an interchangeable force of at least 13 Type 26 anti‑submarine frigates to protect undersea infrastructure and counter heightened Russian activity in the North Atlantic. The Ministry of Defence reported a 30% rise in Russian vessels near UK waters over two years.
On 27 October, No.10 confirmed Türkiye’s purchase of 20 Eurofighter Typhoons worth up to £8 billion-the first new UK Typhoon order since 2017-with the government estimating around 20,000 UK jobs supported across sites including Warton and Samlesbury. Ankara and London presented the deal as strengthening NATO’s air power on its southern flank.
Additional activity rounded out the year. The government said the export and sale of 12 C‑130 aircraft to Türkiye carried a combined value to UK defence and Marshall Aerospace of over £550 million, safeguarding 1,400 skilled jobs in Cambridge. Marshall separately announced a multiyear support contract covering maintenance, upgrades and training for the same fleet.
Beyond the headline programmes, Devon‑based Supacat signed for 18 HMT Extenda vehicles for Czechia’s special forces, with the company and open‑source defence reporting noting deliveries from 2026 following local integration work. The order replaces ageing platforms and embeds UK–Czech industrial cooperation.
Exports sit alongside structural changes to defence industrial policy. In July, ministers signed a new 50‑year AUKUS treaty with Australia underpinning the SSN‑AUKUS submarine programme. The Foreign Office and Defence Ministry described up to £20 billion of UK export potential over 25 years, plus more than 7,000 new jobs and over 21,000 workers engaged at peak.
Licensing has also been addressed. On 10 December the UK joined the Agreement on Defence Export Controls with France, Germany and Spain. The policy paper states UK sovereignty over licensing is unchanged, while partners agree to consider joint exports in collaborative programmes more favourably-aimed at giving firms greater certainty on multinational projects such as Eurofighter.
The Strategic Defence Review 2025 framed defence as an engine of growth and set out major organisational reform. It created a National Armaments Director and the National Armaments Director Group to concentrate procurement, digital, infrastructure and exports functions under clearer accountability and tighter delivery disciplines.
Personnel changes followed. Former Inmarsat chief executive Rupert Pearce was appointed National Armaments Director on 13 October for a five‑year term, succeeding interim work led by Andy Start. The Ministry of Defence and Defence Equipment & Support describe the role as central to procurement reform and international collaboration on exports.
Operational concepts are shifting in parallel. The Royal Navy has outlined ‘Atlantic Bastion’, a move to a hybrid force that connects ships, submarines, aircraft and uncrewed systems through AI‑enabled sensing. Official updates and industry notices detail a two‑phase approach-‘Atlantic Net’ followed by a government‑owned model-now progressing through at‑sea trials of extra‑large autonomous vehicles.
For industry and allies, the implications are immediate: sustained workload at BAE Systems’ Glasgow yards from the Norwegian order and continuity on Eurofighter lines from the Türkiye sale, while 2026 opportunities are expected across advanced aircraft, maritime systems and protected mobility, subject to partner demand and licensing.