- 250 skilled jobs supported by £205 million
investment in specialist UK support for the
RAF's Typhoon fighter jets,
keeping aircraft mission-ready.
- Typhoons play a critical role in protecting the UK and
our allies, with recent operations in Eastern Europe
and countering Daesh.
- Workers will benefit across
the country with jobs at sites including in
Lancashire, Lincolnshire and Hampshire.
250 high-skilled jobs have
been secured across the country as
the
MOD today invests over £200 million with
British industry to ensure the RAF's Typhoon fighter
jet fleet is ready to protect the UK and NATO
allies.
Awarded to British company QinetiQ, the work
will deliver specialist technical
and engineering support to the Typhoon
fleet over five years. The £205
million contract shows how the MOD is investing
in capabilities across the country, underlining
how defence is an engine for growth.
The contract extension
will support jobs across the
country, including highly-skilled engineering
jobs at QinetiQ, MOD and RAF sites in Farnborough,
MOD Boscombe
Down, Malvern, Lincoln, Bristol, RAF
Coningsby, and Warton.
The five-year agreement provides technical, airworthiness
and safety expertise and support. This support is
essential for maintaining aircraft that travel at
twice the speed of sound and operate in demanding
conditions. That work includes engineering support help the
MOD deliver the new cutting-edge European Common Radar
System (ECRS) Mk2, which will allow
the aircraft to simultaneously
detect, identify and track multiple targets in the air
and on the ground.
The Typhoon is the RAF's primary fighter jet, with
the aircraft protecting the UK's skies around the
clock, as well as deploying on operations
worldwide. Continuing to upgrade Typhoons was a commitment
in the Strategic Defence Review, forming part of the
next-generation of the Royal Air Force.
Typhoons have recently supported NATO's
eastern flank through Operation Eastern Sentry
and conducted airstrike operations against Daesh
terrorists in the Middle East.
Last year the government secured a further 20,000 jobs across the
UK through the largest fighter jet deal in a generation, selling
20 world-leading Typhoons to Türkiye in an £8 billion boost to
the economy and strengthening NATO's collective security.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry MP
said:
“Our Typhoon fighter fleet is the backbone of Britain's
air defence and keeps our nation secure at home and strong
abroad, deploying across the world in support of our
allies.
“Through our continued UK investment in the Typhoon
programme and last year's £8 billion Typhoon
export deal with Türkiye, we are showing how defence is
an engine for growth supporting prosperity across the
country.”
The UK is committed to the largest sustained increase in defence
spending since the end of the Cold War - hitting 2.6% of GDP from
2027.
The Typhoon fleet remains central to UK and NATO
defence. This contract ensures the aircraft will
continue protecting British skies and supporting allies for years
to come.
QinetiQ has delivered technical and engineering support to
Typhoon since the inception of the programme, work
that continues to represent value for money while
meeting the RAF's operational requirements.
Steve Wadey, Group Chief Executive Officer
at QinetiQ, said:
“This contract is a testament to our commitment to the
government's defence as an engine for growth agenda. We're
backing UK businesses, modernising how we deliver and ensuring
the operational readiness of our armed forces.
“Working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Defence, we
are investing in cutting-edge technology that increases our
productivity and elevates our vital expertise, meaning we can get
mission critical capability in to the hands of our warfighters at
pace and reduced cost.”
The contract is an extension of the existing Engineering Delivery
Partner Partnership Contract between the MOD and
the Aurora consortium, of which QinetiQ is the
prime.
Lyndon Hoyle, DE&S Typhoon Team Leader,
said:
“This contract ensures our Typhoon fleet continues to receive the
expert engineering support it needs to remain ready for missions.
Working alongside DE&S and RAF colleagues, QinetiQ's team has
delivered outstanding technical and
safety expertise over many years, and this extension
allows us to build on that proven partnership. Their work is
essential to keeping these aircraft safe and capable,
whether protecting UK airspace or supporting operations worldwide
alongside our allies.”
