Powering Defence Agility: from innovation to impact – together

At DSEI 2025, Thales is showing how partnerships with UK SMEs are turning innovation into operational impact - faster, more affordably, and at the pace of the threat.

SMEs at the heart of UK Defence innovation

Small and medium enterprises are the lifeblood of Defence innovation. They bring pace, agility and fresh thinking - often generating the breakthroughs in areas such as AI, autonomy, digital trust and identity, cyber, quantum and advanced sensors.

For Thales, SMEs are not just suppliers. They are partners in capability and sovereignty - and our role as a prime is to help them scale, industrialise, and deliver into critical programmes.

What we're already doing - in action

Thales employs more than 7,000 people across the UK and invests around £575 million annually with UK suppliers. One in four pounds we spend already goes to SMEs - bringing agility and disruptive thinking into major programmes.

Across 2024, we engaged ~1,700 suppliers, including ~1,000 UK SMEs delivering on 1,345 projects - showing the depth and breadth of our SME ecosystem.

This isn't theory - it's already happening today:

• MindFoundry - working together on Sonar 2087 to apply AI to detection and classification, speeding decision-making for Royal Navy operators.
• Unsung Ltd - collaborating on digital trust and identity solutions, supporting both MOD and central government programmes.
• And across the country we are partnering with a wide range of specialist SMEs - from Faculty.ai and Montvieux in behavioural analytics, to Nightball in resilient systems, and Hippo Digital in identity management.

The role of a prime

Our job as a prime is to give SMEs the runway:

• Opening access to our global purchasing and R&D networks.
• Supporting them with standards, security and integration so their innovations can enter service quickly and safely.
• Connecting them with export routes and international markets.

This is underpinned by Thales' €1bn+ annual Group R&D - giving us the pedigree and experience to help SMEs industrialise their concepts and bring them into service.

It's about making sure great ideas don't stay in the lab, but become deployed capability that strengthens the UK's resilience.

Strategic SME Partner Programme

Building on what already works, Thales is now formalising its approach with a new Strategic SME Partner Programme.

The programme will:

• Focus on a smaller, strategic cohort of SMEs, working more deeply to help them scale.
• Provide access to Thales' global networks, R&D, and digital transformation services.
• Deliver targeted support on integration, security assurance and open interfaces.
• Include networking and community-building to connect SMEs with government and industry.
• Take a UK-wide lens, building regional ecosystems across all four nations.

Aligning with Government ambitions

This approach directly supports the UK Government's Small Business Plan and the MOD's SME Action Plan - both of which aim to speed innovation cycles, strengthen supply chain resilience, and spread prosperity across the UK.

By backing SMEs and helping them grow, we're not just supporting the Defence sector - we're strengthening national sovereignty and fuelling wider economic growth.

Making connections at DSEI

At DSEI 2025, Thales is proud to be part of the Tech Zone SME programme and to showcase our UK ecosystem. Alongside our UK CEO, Phil Siveter, we are hosting SME networking sessions and working with senior MOD leadership to highlight the importance of SMEs in powering Defence agility.

Partnership is the multiplier. SMEs bring the agility; our job is to help them scale - safely, at speed, and into service.

Phil Siveter, CEO Thales UK

Interested in partnering with us?

Find out more about the Strategic SME Partner Programme and co-innovation opportunities with Thales.

Scan the QR code or contact the Thales UK team to get involved.