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Defence, Industries and Society Conference

About the event:

The Defence Industrial Base – A Critical Component of Military Capability

From the perspective of the second decade of the Twenty-first Century, the defence industrial base finds itself at a pivotal moment in the development of affordable and sustainable defence capabilities.  The confluence of leaner and more agile militaries in the West, combined with tighter, even shrinking, budgets and broader fiscal constraints has left many industrialists, and policy-makers, seeking an appropriate response. Could defence management reform, especially in the UK, offer significant commercial opportunities for defence businesses or does the significant growth of the newer economies offer the promise of a more pronounced business development pipeline? Where does greater, long-term return on investment lay, and what do these commercial challenges mean for notions of a state’s sovereign capability? 

This conference intends to unpick and explore the profound issues moulding and shaping the defence industrial base and its relationship with the military instrument, policy-makers and wider society.  From the perspective of the senior politician, leading industrialist and most influential commentator, the conference will offer profound insight into the state of defence industries and the policies and forces that shape industrial responses. For anybody interested in the relationship between industry, the military and government, or the development of defence industrial policies in a democracy, this conference will prove indispensable.     

Conference sessions will look at:   

• Government-defence industry relationships
  
  The characteristics of the current relationships between government and defence industry in the UK, including some comparison with other states
    
• The contribution of defence industry to military operations
  
  The nature and degree of reliance in industry agility and responsiveness for operational capability
    
• The changing boundaries of the private sector in defence
  
  The scope and limits of the private sector contribution to defence
   
• Future requirements and programmes
  
  Opportunities in the defence market at home and overseas, and the feasibility of non-defence markets
   
• Needed skills and competencies in the public and private sector
  
  Present capabilities and future requirements: the place of education and training
   
• Risks and returns on investment
  
  Why invest in tomorrow’s defence and security market