Defence: Innovation

The MOD is adopting more agile commercial approaches that reduce procurement times and barriers to entry for innovative suppliers, these are termed the 11 levers of Digital acquisition. These levers include optimised routes to market, a key example of which is the Digital Decision Accelerators for Defence (DDAD) framework, which enables suppliers to engage earlier with Defence, respond more quickly to emerging requirements and supports faster competition and delivery of digital capabilities. Over 50% of suppliers appointed to the framework are SMEs.

Through Commercial X, Defence has also established mechanisms to help innovative suppliers, SMEs and non-traditional defence partners bring proven capabilities into service more rapidly. Initiatives including the Neutral Vendor Framework for Innovation, the Dynamic Marketplace and the Defence Unicorn Fund provide routes for innovation to progress from concept to operational use, while helping remove barriers to supplier engagement.

In parallel, UK Defence Innovation (UKDI), the Rapid AI Delivery Taskforce and the AI Model Arena are supporting the identification, testing and scaling of innovative technologies across Defence.

These initiatives are complemented by investment in Defence's enterprise digital backbone, enabling successful solutions to be reused and scaled across programmes and organisations. Together, these measures are improving Defence's ability to identify, procure, test and deploy innovative digital capabilities more rapidly in support of the Strategic Defence Review's ambition for a more digitally enabled and integrated force.