Countdown Continues Towards DPRTE Defence Summit as UK Defence Industry Marks Pivotal Year

September 9, 2026

With six weeks to go, the DPRTE Defence Summit returns to Manchester at a critical moment for UK defence — one year on from the Defence Industrial Strategy and with a near-£300 billion investment programme now moving from policy into procurement.

The countdown is on for the DPRTE Defence Summit, taking place on 22 October 2026 at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester, bringing together government, industry and the defence supply chain to explore how record levels of investment are translating into contract opportunities.

The event lands just over a year since the publication of the Defence Industrial Strategy in September 2025 and arrives as the government’s Defence Investment Plan starts to take shape: £15 billion in confirmed funding forms part of a wider near-£300 billion investment programme over the next four years. For suppliers across the UK, the summit is a chance to move beyond the headline figures and understand exactly where the opportunities will land.

Chaired by Prof. Andrew Schofield of the North West Regional Defence and Security Cluster, the day’s programme is built around the questions suppliers are asking most: how increased spending converts into pipeline and contracts, what procurement reform means commercially, how mid-tier organisations and regional clusters can open new routes to market, and where export opportunities sit alongside domestic growth.

The day opens with a ministerial address from Luke Pollard MP, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, followed by a keynote from Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, former Chief of the Defence Staff, on the strategic landscape facing UK and European defence. Panel sessions bring together senior voices including Prof. Annette Weekes MBE, CEO of Zenix Aerospace-Weston; Andrew Kinniburgh, Director General of Make UK Defence; and Samira Braund, Defence Director at ADS, alongside contributors from across the Ministry of Defence, AMRC Northwest, TechUK and the wider regional cluster network, covering commercial reform, investment pipelines, export routes and the shift towards dual-use technology.

For the UK Defence Supply Chain

A year on from the Defence Industrial Strategy, and with the MOD’s SME Action Plan targeting a £2.5 billion increase in SME spend by summer 2028, the day’s sessions are designed to help suppliers turn strategy into action. That means SMEs and mid-tier firms across engineering, technology transition, commercial and regulatory disciplines and regional cluster members from the North West and beyond all have reason to attend, particularly those able to point to the accreditation, track record and export readiness the procurement reform and international collaboration panels will explore. With registration open and the event six weeks away, suppliers looking to understand how £300 billion of planned investment reaches their part of the supply chain should treat 22 October as a date for the diary.