Just like buses, three come along at once and June was no different. As part of our longstanding relationship and support of the Front-Line Commands, ADS has recently delivered opportunities for our members to engage with The British Army, Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy.

The British Army

At the start of the month, back to back events took place, firstly with the British Army, hosted by ADS member Pearson Engineering Ltd to deliver the latest Land Enterprise Working Group (LEWG). The LEWG is a great example of Defence and the Defence Enterprise working together to strengthen UK land capability and industrial resilience as set out in the Land Industrial Strategy.

With the opportunity to hear from and engage with Major General Jon Swift, Director Programmes; Major General Lizzie Faithfull-Davies, Director Land Enterprise; and Brigadier Toby Lambert, Head of IIP, industry shared its insights on the Land Industrial Strategy, Army Modernisation, DE&S Reform, the NADG, the upcoming Defence Industrial Strategy, and of course the recently published Strategic Defence Review.

Royal Air Force

The following day, we held another capability day with the Royal Air Force (RAF) industry and academia, to deep dive into areas including IAMD, AI, sustainability and NATO led by senior capability personnel. This event is part of a series of capability days throughout the year with the RAF, allowing discussion and output at a higher level of classification, moving away from a traditional conference format, allowing both sides to really tackle and work through problem sets.

Royal Navy

Finally to round the month off; held at HMS Collingwood, the Royal Navy ran their Information Warfare (IW) symposium and – with the support of ADS – invited industry to attend.

Attended by 350 professionals from the Royal Navy (Regular and Reserves), US Navy and academia, and industry, the event brought together experts in Assured C2, Battlespace Awareness and Integrated Fires. For the first time, it included industry partners and covered a diverse range of topics, with senior military leaders highlighting the crucial role of Information Warfare in decision-making and enhancing the operating environment.

Industry had a platform to present their perspective, further demonstrating that FLC engage, support and embrace industry into their thoughts and processes.

Conclusion

Engagement activity with the Front-Line Commands is further demonstration that the relationship with industry is moving beyond what has been seen as transactional to one of collaboration and partnerships and ADS are proud to play their part by working across defence and the defence enterprise.