The Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) is a

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policy which was published as a

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

on 15 December 2005. The purpose of the DIS is stated to be to ensure that the UK armed forces are provided with the equipment they require, on time, and at best value for money. This is achieved through the maintenance of sovereign capabilities, i.e. the capabilities of UK companies in key defence areas. The DIS is structured into three parts. Part A outlines the strategy, part B reviews the UK defence industry, and part C describes the implications of the DIS and how it is to be implemented. The DIS builds upon the Defence Industrial Policy published in 2002 and the

Strategic Defence Review The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of t ...

of 1998. UK defence procurement was radically changed by the government of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

- cost plus contracts and "national champions" were abandoned in favour of competitive tendering. This made the UK defence procurement market the most open in the world and in contrast to the European continent and America. The DIS reverts to the concept of "national champions" to maintain vital capabilities, as identified by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

"to maintain appropriate sovereignty and thereby protect UK national security." The Defence Industries Council warned in 2004 that the continuation of a totally "open market" approach would see the UK "lose almost completely the strong industrial base that has supplied our armed forces. UK sovereignty could be threatened." The DIS has been widely seen as confirming

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

as the UK's "national champion". Of the key industrial capabilities which must be maintained several are dominated by BAE, including naval vessels and submarines, armoured fighting vehicles (over 95% of the UK’s AFVs are BAE products), fixed-wing aircraft, general munitions (with the exception of certain "niche capabilities abroad") and

Network Enabled Capability Network-enabled capability, or NEC, is the name given to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence long-term intent to achieve enhanced military effect through the better use of information systems towards the goal of "right information, right place ...

(defined as

C4ISTAR Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

in the DIS). After the publication of the DIS BAE Systems

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said "If we didn't have the DIS and our profitability and the terms of trade had stayed as they were... then there had to be a question mark about our future in the U.K." The year after the release of the DIS the government released the Defence Technology Strategy which takes forward some of the themes introduced in the DIS. This document discusses where science and technology research should focus on to deliver the capabilities identified in the DIS. An updated version of the DTS is expected to be published by the Defence Technology Innovation Centre (DTIC) in 2008.

Follow-on strategies

After the following

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

came to power, it initiated the

Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 was announced by the newly formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010. The previous major review of UK defence strate ...

and later published a white paper titled "National security through technology" in 2012. The following government initiated the

Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 was published by the British government during the second Cameron ministry on 23 November 2015 to outline the United Kingdom's defence strategy up to 2025. It identified k ...

then held a consultation on a "Defence industrial policy" in 2016.

References

External links

Defence industrial strategy : defence white paper 2005
{{UK Defence Review 2005 documents Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) United Kingdom defence procurement 2005 in the United Kingdom Defence white papers 2005 in military history 2005 in British politics 21st-century military history of the United Kingdom United Kingdom industrial planning policy