BAE Systems’ FalconWorks facility at Warton has been held up in the House of Commons as a leading example of how research and development should be embedded within UK defence procurement, as ministers confirmed a £400 million annual budget for a new national defence innovation programme. Fylde MP Andrew Snowden raised the work of FalconWorks during Defence Procurement Questions, drawing Parliament’s attention to the facility’s role in rapidly redesigning and redeploying air systems informed by live operational experience in Ukraine. Mr Snowden pressed the government to ensure that R&D investment is built into procurement from the outset, enabling British industry…
