Mr Fallon met a number of British-based small and medium-sized enterprises which won awards in the MOD-funded Defence Growth Partnership (DGP) Innovation Challenge, run in partnership between the UK Defence Solutions Centre (UKDSC) and the Ministry of Defence.
He was also given a tour of the UKDSC, which offers collaborative support to companies competing in the global defence market.
The Secretary of State also welcomed three new organisations to the membership of the UKDSC – Ultra Electronics, University of Southampton and Cranfield University.
Minister of State for Defence Procurement Philip Dunne MP, who launched the Innovation Challenge in 2015, was also on hand to congratulate the British SME winners. The winners have now been awarded follow-on funding totalling £2.3M. The winning organisations were Close Air Solutions, Inzpire, Glyndwr Innovations, Amethyst Research, University of Birmingham and QinetiQ.
These organisations all helped provide innovative solutions on how the defence industry responds to issues surrounding big data and air surveillance.
Mr Fallon said: “The Defence Growth Partnership brings together the best minds in the defence industry and is a fine example of British initiative. I congratulate all the winners of the Innovation Challenge. These projects are good for our Armed Forces, good for our economy and good for Britain.”
If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here
Amethyst Research Close Air Solutions Defence Procurement DGP Farnborough International Air Show FIA2016 Glyndwr Innovations Innovation & Technology Innovation Challenge Inzpire MOD Procurement & contracts QinetiQ SME UK UKDSC University of Birmingham