The defence industry in the UK has remained broadly resilient in the face of financial pressures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for all businesses within the defence supply chain, particularly those that also operate in commercial aerospace and are small 32 Foreign Involvement in the Defence Supply Chain and medium sized enterprises. The financial vulnerability of such businesses could increase the risk of hostile foreign involvement in the defenc...

The defence industry in the UK has remained broadly resilient in the face of financial pressures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for all businesses within the defence supply chain, particularly those that also operate in commercial aerospace and are small 32 Foreign Involvement in the Defence Supply Chain and medium sized enterprises. The financial vulnerability of such businesses could increase the risk of hostile foreign involvement in the defence supply chain. Type: conclusion | Number: 12 | Paragraph: 59 | Response status: under_consideration Government response: The Government shares the Committee’s assessment that UK defence industry has remained broadly resilient despite the enormous challenges posed by the pandemic. But the Committee is quite right to highlight that economic disruption caused by Covid–and the resulting financial stress–could make busines