Thirteen British technology companies have been awarded contracts worth up to £4 million each through the Ministry of Defence’s accelerated contracting vehicle Commercial X, as the government moves to open up new routes into defence for small and innovative businesses, less than four months after the programme was announced.
The contracts span quantum sensing, autonomous systems, secure communications, space manufacturing and synthetic training, and have been awarded to companies from across England, Wales and Scotland, with more than half having done little or no previous business with the MoD.
The Defence Unicorn Fund in Actionv
The awards are the first contracts issued under the government’s defence unicorn initiative, designed to identify and back the next generation of billion-pound British defence businesses. All thirteen winning companies were founded after 2011, and the vast majority within the last six years, representing genuinely early-stage businesses rather than established SMEs with existing defence track records.
The thirteen recipients are The RC Den Ltd (London), Aquark Technologies Ltd (Hampshire), Aether Aerospace Ltd (Newport, Wales), SpaceAM Ltd (London), Avenue 3 Ltd (West Yorkshire), Nereus Medical Ltd (Devon), Kraken Technology Group (Hampshire), Flowcopter Ltd (Edinburgh), Helyx Secure Information Systems Limited (Buckinghamshire), EP90Group Ltd (Winfrith Newburgh), Ritson Reid Ltd (Berkshire), SimCentric Limited (Oxfordshire) and Spectra Group (UK) Ltd (London).
The geographic spread is deliberate. Contracts support jobs in communities across Devon, Edinburgh, Newport in Wales, West Yorkshire and beyond, reflecting the government’s commitment to ensuring defence investment drives growth across the country rather than concentrating it in established defence corridors.
Speed as a Feature, Not an Accident
The programme’s pace is one of its most notable characteristics. SpaceAM CEO and Founder Chris Isaac described the impact in stark terms: “Game changer! In just five weeks: six new staff, our first commercial labs operational, top London VCs lining up to invest, and the ability to scale at pace with confidence. That’s what this Unicorn Fund has delivered.”
That combination of government contract and private investment confidence is precisely what the programme is designed to catalyse. Commercial X assessed applicants against UK Armed Forces requirements across technology and capability themes including AI and machine learning, robotics and autonomy, and precision capabilities, with contracts structured to provide a foundation for attracting further private investment and scaling rapidly.
Defence Secretary John Healey MP was direct about the ambition: “These companies may be small, but they all have the potential to become billion-pound FTSE 100 firms.”
The Broader Context
The unicorn fund sits within a wider package of reforms designed to make Britain the most accessible defence market in the world for innovative small businesses. The MoD has committed to increasing defence spending with SMEs by 50% through to May 2028, representing an additional £2.5 billion and bringing total SME spend to £7.5 billion. A new Office of Small Business Growth provides a single point of access for SMEs navigating the defence market, and a recent Dragons’ Den-style event connected defence innovators directly with private investors.
The Good Growth Foundation’s Director Praful Nargund framed the stakes clearly: “Too often SMEs are locked out of defence contracts, and defence investment flows overseas rather than building resilience in Britain. By backing our innovators, giving them the contacts and capital to grow, we can create the conditions to build Britain’s next defence unicorn.”
For businesses with relevant technology that have not yet engaged with Commercial X or the Office of Small Business Growth, the unicorn fund’s first cohort demonstrates that the routes into defence are now more accessible and faster-moving than traditional procurement has historically allowed.
Post written by: Vicky Maggiani
Vicky has worked in media for over 25 years and has a wealth of experience in editing and creating copy for a variety of sectors.
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