Speaker 1: Well, I think we're at an interesting point, and you know,
Speaker 1: we're in a year where Statrtic Defense Review is going
Speaker 1: to be coming out soon, we hope there'll be a
Speaker 1: defense Industrial strategy and the appointment of a National Armaments Director.
Speaker 1: So there are lots of important things happening where we'll
Speaker 1: get some clarity on how the UK and the government
Speaker 1: feel about defense and about its defense industry. And certainly
Speaker 1: a lot of the rhetoric if you like, around that
Speaker 1: is reflecting not only the importance of defense in the
Speaker 1: need to invest in defense and spend more on defense,
Speaker 1: but to do that in the UK. So I think
Speaker 1: this is the year where we and the UK defense
Speaker 1: industry will hope to see those words turning into action.
Speaker 2: So you think it's a pivotal year. Then are you
Speaker 2: doing anything to ramp up in the UK now or
Speaker 2: are you awaiting all of those reviews and the contracts
Speaker 2: to arrive.
Speaker 1: So we have a sizable presence as Airbus, Defense and
Speaker 1: Space UK here already. We have about three and a
Speaker 1: half people, most of those are across two sites Stevenage
Speaker 1: and Portsmouth designing and building satellites and we're well set
Speaker 1: now for what we need to do. The question, I
Speaker 1: guess will be what further opportunities or requirements will come
Speaker 1: from the government, and will be ready to ramp up,
Speaker 1: as you say, and ready to increase and invest ourselves
Speaker 1: if that were to happen.
Speaker 2: Do you think that the UK can keep up with
Speaker 2: European defense spending commitments?
Speaker 1: Well, John Heedy has said recently that he wants to
Speaker 1: be part of that increased spend and those various economic
Speaker 1: mechanisms that the European Union is putting into place. I
Speaker 1: guess we'll hear more of that at the forthcoming UK
Speaker 1: EU summit. But no, the UK is very well placed
Speaker 1: to be, as it always has been a central part
Speaker 1: of European security and defense.
Speaker 2: That's more of a testament to how little others are spending,
Speaker 2: though in some sense, is that the UK is so
Speaker 2: high in the NATO pack of spending.
Speaker 1: Well, I think all countries at the moment are looking
Speaker 1: at how much they need to spend, and most countries
Speaker 1: are talking about increasing their spend.
Speaker 2: When do you think that we'll see new money flow
Speaker 2: from the UK government and specifically for you at a PUS,
Speaker 2: When do you think that money will start flowing?
Speaker 1: Well, they're talking about increasing to spend of GDP to
Speaker 1: two and a half percent by twenty twenty seven. We
Speaker 1: know that Trump has asked NATO members to go between
Speaker 1: three and a half and five percent, is what we're hearing,
Speaker 1: So we'll see how the UK responds to that, and
Speaker 1: I guess as part of the UK EU Summit and
Speaker 1: then the NATO Summit in June, we might hear some
Speaker 1: more detail from the UK and other countries.
Speaker 2: So it sounds like you're poised. There's not much.
Speaker 1: Detail, We're poised, and the detail and the direction it
Speaker 1: seems encouraging and we look forward to hearing from the
Speaker 1: Defense Review more.
Speaker 2: Detail in terms of the capabilities. Obviously, you know the
Speaker 2: rhetoric as you mentioned, and the idea of rebuilding and
Speaker 2: building up defense spending is there, but then the capacity
Speaker 2: and the capabilities then do take time. What we are
Speaker 2: seeing though from Blue Big Data is that backlogs we
Speaker 2: know for the big defense companies yours included in the US,
Speaker 2: in the UK and in Europe are increasing. Are your
Speaker 2: backlogs rising here in the UK as there is more
Speaker 2: pressure now to build and deliver.
Speaker 1: Not particularly we're as I say, we're well poised to
Speaker 1: deliver what we're already working on both on the defense
Speaker 1: and indeed the commercial side, and we're ready and set
Speaker 1: to invest more if that's required with future orders or
Speaker 1: commitments from the UK. I mean, what we have in
Speaker 1: the UK at the moment is a fantastic capability in space.
Speaker 1: You know, for fifty years, Airbus Defense and Space has
Speaker 1: been here, designing, building, even operating satellites. For twenty years
Speaker 1: we operated the UK Skynet satellite communication system and that's
Speaker 1: something that really we believe should be nurtured. And if
Speaker 1: the UK at this time doubles down and invests itself
Speaker 1: in that capability with it bringing requirements to UK factories
Speaker 1: and UK companies, not just ours. We have a supply
Speaker 1: chain of something like two thousand companies, half of which
Speaker 1: are SMEs. We've launched many initiatives to encourage smaller companies
Speaker 1: to get involved in space and so on, and we
Speaker 1: really see ourselves at Airbus Defense and Space UK as
Speaker 1: a convener for success in the UK.
Speaker 2: What does a war ready Breton look like from your perspective?
Speaker 2: The Prime Minister Kissed Arma has vowed to return Britain
Speaker 2: to war fighting readiness.
Speaker 1: So space is at the center of today's war fighting capabilities.
Speaker 1: Some people refer to it as the ultimate high ground.
Speaker 1: It's the place that you operate from, where you see
Speaker 1: more and where of course you can communicate most effectively from.
Speaker 1: So certainly part of any investment in becoming already would
Speaker 1: need to be to invest in that space capability and
Speaker 1: to make sure that we maintain our own independent operations,
Speaker 1: our own independent ability to design, build and operate satellites,
Speaker 1: to take our own view of the threats that are
Speaker 1: out there. And you do that by maintaining a capability yourself,
Speaker 1: not buying off the shelf from other countries,