March 2026 – More than 60 ambitious SMEs gathered this week for Breaking into Defence: Enter Overseas Markets with the Ministry of Defence, a specialist event delivered by Oxford Innovation Advice, designed to accelerate SME participation in international defence markets and strengthen the UK’s sovereign defence capability.
The event directly addressed key priorities championed by Make UK Defence – supporting smaller manufacturers to become export-ready, building resilient domestic supply chains, and ensuring UK innovation is embedded within global defence programmes.
Delivered in partnership with business support programmes across the West Midlands including the Investment Readiness Programme, the event provided SMEs with direct access to Ministry of Defence export specialists, global primes, and regional growth advisers.
The event focused on five key themes:
- Navigating international defence procurement processes
- Understanding export controls and compliance
- Positioning SME innovation within global supply chains
- Accessing government-backed export support
- Building long-term strategic partnerships
David Woodbridge, SME Engagement Team Leader from the UK Ministry of Defence Exports team commented: “A huge thank you to the team at Oxford Innovation Advice for the help and support in delivering such a successful West Midlands SME Surgery. With over 60 SMEs in attendance and some great interaction and feedback, I think we can confidently say we met our joint objective of helping SMEs in the region with their business growth. We would be delighted to work with Oxford Innovation Advice again in the future.”
Global aerospace and defence group Safran shared insight into how SMEs can successfully integrate into international programmes and long-term frameworks during the event.
John England, General Manager for Safran in the UK commented; “I’m super excited to be presenting at the Oxford Innovation Advice forum. I shared insight about how suppliers may be able to access the defence market within the UK and offered some advice on that.
We absolutely would not be successful without the small and medium enterprises that supply into Safran to make the products that we produce and deliver to our customers. It was a great event and very helpful for those SMEs.”
SMEs attending the event reported immediate value in the practical guidance and strategic clarity gained. One Midlands-based advanced engineering firm commented:
Glen Aston – Rowan Precision
“We don’t currently supply into the MOD. I attended a roundtable event a couple of weeks ago, organised by Oxford Innovation Advice and the team sent me an invite to this event, which was very appropriate following on from that previous meeting.
“Today certainly opened my eyes to see what the options and opportunities could be for us. There were people from the Army who had opened things up for us, and we may investigate looking at their exhibition centre in Larkhill.
“The guys from the government part of the MOD certainly shared what’s involved in getting into that sector. I need to take it a little bit further forward because we’re probably going to be a tier 3 or tier 4 company, and it’s about how we then get into the tier 1s and tier 2s supporting the MOD.
“Overall, I think it’s a big positive for Oxford Innovation Advice and what they’ve done here today.” Glen Aston, CEO of Roman Precision, a Swiss CNC precision engineering company based in Witton, Birmingham
By supporting SMEs to scale, innovate and export, the event reinforces regional contribution to national defence resilience, ensuring the West Midlands remains a critical component of the UK’s advanced manufacturing and defence ecosystem.
Oxford Innovation Advice continues to work with regional and national partners to ensure high-potential businesses are equipped to compete globally, aligning with the UK’s ambition to grow defence exports while safeguarding domestic industrial strength.
Quote from Jane Galsworthy, Managing Director of Oxford Innovation Advice:
“SMEs play a vital role in strengthening the UK’s defence industrial base. We are committed to connecting ambitious businesses with the right insight, partners and support to access global defence supply chains and scale.”
