2 minute read - 4th July 2025
Report reveals the extent BAE Systems and defence sector contributes to the UK economy
Research by Oxford Economics has revealed that the UK government’s ambition to deliver a defence dividend is already taking effect, with the nation’s biggest defence company, BAE Systems, contributing £13.7bn to national GDP in 2024, accounting for one in every £200 of the country’s economic output.
The BAE Systems contribution report, which is based on 2024 data, comes soon after the UK’s Strategic Defence Review was announced at BAE Systems’ site in Glasgow, where the Prime Minister outlined a plan to create “a defence dividend – that will be felt in the pockets of working people and the prosperity of the country, securing growth for generations to come.”
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New research has revealed that BAE Systems, with almost 50,000 employees across the country, contributed £13.7bn to UK GDP / Picture: BAE Systems
Through its Industrial Strategy, BAE Systems says the UK government has made it clear that defence is central to both national security and economic growth, aspiring to harness innovation and industrial power to make defence a new engine for growth. This encompasses a broad range of positive economic outcomes, including jobs, exports and lasting productivity gains. The report outlines some of the ways BAE Systems is already delivering by supporting over 159,000 full-time equivalent jobs, including almost 50,000 in its UK business.
It’s also driving economic activity through a UK-wide supply chain, with 5,800 UK suppliers and £5.8bn spent, supporting jobs across the country, and creating opportunities where they are needed most, with over 40% of its UK workforce living in the most deprived fifth of local authority areas, and £1.3bn spent with businesses in those areas.
BAE Systems has spent £5.8bn with 5,800 UK suppliers / Picture: BAE Systems / James Robinson
Charles Woodburn, chief executive at BAE Systems, said: “We work at pace, every day to deliver the advanced, technology-led capabilities the UK’s armed forces need to defend our freedom and strengthen national security, but this report shows that our industry delivers so much more than that. We fuel economic growth, creating jobs and prosperity, with the impact extending far beyond BAE Systems to the thousands of companies we work with right across the UK, helping to support growth and a robust, resilient and innovative UK defence industrial base.”
The report also outlines how BAE Systems is intensifying its commitment to skills development. In 2024, the company invested £230m in education and training, including more than £150m for 4,650 apprentices and almost £50m for graduate training. This significant investment directly supports the UK government’s vision to create new jobs, develop skills, and drive substantial growth in industrial capacity.
You can download the full report below:
