89% of MoD Contracts Awarded to UK Firms Since July 2024, Minister Confirms

Homeland May 7, 2026

Two innovative SMEs have won funding from DASA to develop cutting-edge projects under the Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP).

The Ministry of Defence awarded 4,130 new procurement contracts between 5 July 2024 and 23 April 2026, with 3,680 – equating to 89% – going to UK-located or UK-headquartered companies, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard has confirmed.

The figures, released in response to a parliamentary question from MP Sarah Dyke, offer one of the clearest snapshots to date of how MoD contract spend is distributed between domestic and overseas suppliers. The remaining 450 contracts, representing 11% of the total, were awarded to firms based outside the UK.

Volume vs. Value: An Important Distinction

While the headline figures will be welcomed by UK industry, they tell only part of the story. The 89% domestic share relates to the number of contracts awarded — not their combined value. Earlier data has indicated that non-UK firms have tended to secure higher-value individual contracts, meaning their share of total spend may be proportionally greater than their 11% slice of contract volume suggests.

For UK SMEs and regional suppliers in particular, this distinction matters. Winning a larger number of smaller contracts is positive, but the defence industry’s most significant revenue and growth opportunities typically lie in the larger, more complex programmes — areas where overseas primes with established capability and long-standing MoD relationships have historically held an advantage.

The Broader Policy Direction

The data sits within a wider government push to increase the share of defence spending that flows to UK-based businesses. The Defence Industrial Strategy, published earlier this year, set out a clear ambition to build a more resilient, sovereign industrial base – with domestic procurement, supply chain development and regional economic impact all identified as priorities.

Minister Pollard’s confirmation of these figures signals that the government is tracking domestic contract distribution closely, and that transparency around procurement outcomes is likely to increase as the strategy beds in.

For suppliers actively pursuing MoD business, the picture is broadly encouraging – but understanding where the higher-value opportunities sit, and how to compete for them, remains the critical challenge.