Key points
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The Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC) is a key forum
for strategic engagement, enabling earlier collaboration and
fast responses to urgent operational needs
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Early market engagement is providing clearer and insight into
available capability, supporting quicker, better informed
procurement decisions
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MOD Category Strategies are strengthening access to
critical materials, reducing supply chain delays, and
aligning activity with industry through the DIJC Working
Group.
Increasing the speed of support through early industry
engagement
Meeting urgent operational demands in the Middle East relies on
earlier, stronger engagement with industry. The Defence
Industrial Joint Council (DIJC), alongside the National Armaments
Director (NAD) Group's newly formed Early Market Engagement team,
is central to increasing the speed of support. This work supports
the Defence Industrial Strategy commitment to provide clearer,
earlier demand signals, ensuring suppliers are better positioned
to respond to rapidly evolving requirements.
Through structured engagement, including Strategic Industry
Roundtables, MOD has moved beyond traditional procurement
approaches to earlier, more open conversations with suppliers.
The approach engages industry before requirements are fully
defined. By sharing clearer problem statements and operational
context, Defence can better understand available capability, test
feasibility, and shape delivery options at speed.
Nathan Hinchliffe, Head of Market Engagement, National Armaments
Director Group, said:
Early and continuous engagement with industry allows us to adapt
to rapidly evolving requirements, understand what is feasible,
and speed up capability. By bringing industry into the
conversation earlier and broadening participation, we are
creating a more partnership-based approach that is already
helping delivery happen faster and unlocking tangible results.
Better access and faster delivery
This approach is widening participation beyond established
primes, bringing in Small and Medium -Sized Enterprises (SMEs),
academia, and non-traditional suppliers based on capability.
Insights gathered from these engagements are directly shaping
delivery decisions, particularly in areas such as export
processes and procurement routes. For example, industry feedback
identified barriers in export approvals, prompting accelerated
government-to-government mechanisms and closer coordination with
the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU). As a result, 37 of 47
export licences have been expedited many significantly faster
than standard timelines helping priority capabilities to reach
partners more quickly.
The Middle East context has also highlighted existing structural
pressures in the supply chain, including constraints in critical
raw materials and long lead times for key components. In
response, NAD is developing Category Strategies to improve access
to constrained areas such as Sensors, Rocket Motors, and
Energetics. This work improves understanding of assembly capacity
and the drivers of long lead times, enabling joint identification
of opportunities to compress delivery timelines. Activity is
being coordinated across MOD and industry through the DIJC
Readiness and Resilience Working Group, ensuring alignment and
coherence.
Making this the standard approach
Together, these efforts represent a shift in how Defence works
with industry, embedding early, continuous engagement as a core
part of delivery. This demonstrates how Defence Reform and the
Defence Industrial Strategy are being implemented in practice to
improve pace, access, and outcomes for the frontline.
Lessons from Middle East support are now shaping a more
sustainable, business-as-usual model, including the development
of a Coordinating Authority for Market Engagement. By formalising
this approach, MOD aims to create a repeatable and scalable
framework that improves industry relationships, supports
investment confidence, and ensures rapid and resilient delivery
of capability to the warfighter.
