AMPTHILL, UK, November 10, 2020 - The upgrade of the British Army’s Warrior armoured infantry fighting vehicles, led by Lockheed Martin UK, could contribute approximately £1 billion to the country’s economy, according to a new report by KPMG. The economic contribution is due to come from activities during the production phase undertaken directly by LMUK and through its UK based supply chain too.

The report, commissioned by Lockheed Martin, looks at the potential benefits of a Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) production contract to the prosperity of the UK, including contributions to the economy, exports, jobs and skills.

According to the independent analysis, a production contract for Warrior upgrade for an assumed 275 vehicle upgrades between 2021 and 2029 could deliver*:

• Approx. £1 billion Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy
• A high number of jobs, with employment supported varying each year linked to the scale of activity on the contract taking place – from 100 annual Full Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs to almost 2,000 annual FTE jobs through direct and supply chain employment when activity is at its peak
• Highly skilled jobs – GVA per FTE job is more than four times the UK national average (£251,682 [1] compared to £59,802 [2]).

The WCSP development programme is now in its final stages of trials and Lockheed Martin UK is in negotiations for a production contract with the Ministry of Defence to deliver the latest in advanced capabilities for up to 275 Warrior vehicles.

The Warrior, an essential asset for the British Army, has been deployed in every UK operation since Iraq in 1990. They were originally built in the 1980s. 

The upgrade Programme, once awarded, will run from 2021 to 2029 and will be based at the company’s state of the art manufacturing facility at Ampthill in Bedfordshire. The production and integration work of the digitised turrets will be supported by a skilled and highly capable supply chain. Approximately 80 percent of the WCSP solution is manufactured by British companies.

One of the suppliers to the WCSP development programme is Bedfordshire-based Axis Electronics, who supply the control panels for the turret.

Paul Chaplin, Managing Director at Axis in Bedfordshire said: “Being a supplier to the WCSP development programme has been an exciting journey, we’ve been able to apply our expert skills and knowledge to the programme and have equally gained new knowledge and grown our skills by working alongside Lockheed Martin’s expert engineers and technicians.

“Through the development phase, we have directly hired 25 employees, and I would estimate a further 50 new hires within our UK wide supply chain. A production contract for Warrior will enable us to create and retain a higher number of highly skilled jobs in the local area.”

A Warrior upgrade contract will bring huge economic benefits to the country. Not only will this benefit the East of England where the main production of the turrets will be based, but there will be economic impacts felt across many other regions too.

Lee Fellows, Vice President and Managing Director at Lockheed Martin Ampthill said: “Since acquiring the Ampthill site, Lockheed Martin has invested significantly into the facility and our number of employees has grown too.

“We’ve created an advanced, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility with a modern and high-tech production line. Our vast 20,000 square metre centre of excellence is the only one of its kind for turret manufacturing in the UK.

“Our exponential growth over the years has promoted an investment of around £23 million into the Ampthill site – we’ve not only invested in the facility, but we’ve invested in our people too.

“The economic impacts of the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme have been significant to the UK economy and a production contract will bring greater prosperity impacts to the UK.”

In addition, Lockheed Martin estimates the medium calibre turret market could to be worth an estimated £16 billion over the next 10 years. The Lockheed Martin turret manufacturing capability will enable access for the UK into this export market. 

[1] An average annual figure for GVA per FTE over the total assessment period (2021 – 2029) based on KPMG estimates for the direct GVA and employment generated through the WCSP.

[2] The UK figure is for GVA per employee. Sourced from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/labourproductivity/datasets/subregionalproductivitylabourproductivitygvaperhourworkedandgvaperfilledjobindicesbyuknuts2andnuts3subregions. Data is for 2018 but has been estimated for 2021 based on Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) CPI forecasts. Available at: https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/the-economy-forecast/inflation/

NOTES TO EDITORS

*The exact number of vehicles to be upgraded through the WCSP production phase may vary dependent on future government funding.  LMUK’s initial pricing estimates are also subject to change.  This would affect the overall results of the analysis.  The results should therefore be viewed as indicative. 
 

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Media Contact:

Shagufta Mustafa, 07813 007721; Shagufta.mustafa@lmco.com

About Lockheed Martin UK

Lockheed Martin UK, headquartered in London is the UK-based arm of Lockheed Martin Corporation, a global defence, security and aerospace company principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. Find out more about the Warrior Capability  Sustainment Programme: https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-gb/products/armoured-vehicles.html

About Axis Electronics 

Originally part of a leading international electronics company, Axis Electronics was formed in 1995 as an independent UK based contract electronic manufacturing services provider with a unique combination of service and technological capabilities.

The Axis Electronics business has evolved significantly over the years to become trusted by many market leading companies as their manufacturing partner of choice. https://www.axis-electronics.com/

[1] An average annual figure for GVA per FTE over the total assessment period (2021 – 2029) based on KPMG estimates for the direct GVA and employment generated through the WCSP.

[2] The UK figure is for GVA per employee. Sourced from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/labourproductivity/datasets/subregionalproductivitylabourproductivitygvaperhourworkedandgvaperfilledjobindicesbyuknuts2andnuts3subregions. Data is for 2018 but has been estimated for 2021 based on Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) CPI forecasts. Available at: https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/the-economy-forecast/inflation/