Defence Secretary Michael Fallon met a number of British based small and medium sized companies which won awards in the MOD-funded Defence Growth Partnership Innovation Challenge, run in partnership between the Defence Solutions Centre and the MOD.

The Defence Secretary was also given a tour of the UK Defence Solutions Centre (DSC). The DSC offers collaborative support to companies competing in the global defence market.

The Secretary of State also welcomed three new organisations to the membership of the UK DSC – Ultra Electronics, University of Southampton and Cranfield University.

The Minister for Defence Procurement Philip Dunne, who launched the Innovation Challenge in 2015, was also on hand to congratulate the British SME winners. The winners have now been awarded follow-on funding totalling £2.3million. The winners were Close Air Solutions, Inzpire, Glyndwr Innovations, Amethyst Research, University of Birmingham and QinetiQ.

These companies all helped provide innovative solutions on how the defence industry responds to issues surrounding big-data and air surveillance.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:

“The Defence Growth Partnership brings together the best minds in the defence industry and is a fine example of British initiative.
I congratulate all the winners of the Innovation Challenge. These projects are good for our armed forces, good for our economy and good for Britain.”