The Department for International Trade Defence and Security Organisation (DIT DSO) has released the UK defence and security export statistics for 2018, revealing that the UK the UK remains the second largest global defence exporter over a rolling ten-year period.
According to the latest UK defence and security export statistics report, the global defence export market is estimated to have increased from $98 billion in 2017 to around $100 billion in 2018.
The UK is one of the world’s highest defence exporters, averaging second place in the global rankings on a rolling 10-year basis (2009 to 2018), making it Europe’s leading defence exporter in the period.
In 2018, the UK won overseas defence orders worth £14 billion, an increase on the previous year’s figure of £9 billion, taking an estimated 19% share of the global defence export market.
Likewise, last year saw a rise in the value of UK security exports as sales hit £5.2 billion, an increase from £4.8 billion in 2017. This helped to consolidate the UK’s fourth place in the global rankings.
The report highlights the importance of the aerospace sector, including platforms, equipment and support, to the UK defence exports market.
The aerospace sector by value in 2018 accounted for two-thirds of all defence exports globally and for the UK made up around 88% of its global defence export market.
As a leader in air sector technology and capability, the UK is exploiting its expertise as it looks to secure the high value export opportunities in growth markets where securing air superiority is, and is likely to remain, a key priority for nearly all nations.
There were notable UK successes in the air domain in 2018 including Typhoon Aircraft and Brimstone Missiles to Qatar and numerous F35 related sales to the USA.
During this ten-year period, UK land exports overtook sea exports. The report notes the significant opportunities within these sectors for the UK to exploit, particularly given the innovative and technological solutions developed by UK companies, and market potential already exploited by competitors.
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Department for International Trade Defence and Security Organisation DIT DSO
Post written by: Matt Brown
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