The UK’s Top Defence Tech Companies
With war in Europe and an increasingly unpredictable foreign policy from the United States, defence is on the political agenda for everyone. Defence spending in the UK is set to rise to 2.5% of GDP by the end of the current parliament, with 3% being mooted after the next general election.
Elsewhere, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently earmarked €800b for a defence fund named the ReArm Europe Fund.
The UK — and Europe more broadly — requires greater defence capacity and production in order to meet the shortfall in US presence across Europe. This follows Vice President Vance’s comments at the Munich Security Conference, and a concerted shift towards an ‘America-first’ security policy.
But could freeing up equity also help? Quite possibly, as my colleague Callum Newton argued recently — making the case that state capital expenditure in defence is not the problem, but rather procurement.
In this vein, over 100 Labour MPs recently signed an open letter in the Financial Times to reclassify defence investments as ethical, in response to claims that some Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies are impacting the defence sector’s access to finance. And only this week, US defence company Anduril announced plans to open a UK factory to manufacture drones in Europe.
In this article, we’ll examine the increasing role of the Defence Tech industry, amidst a historic squeeze in public funding, and rank the top 10 UK Defence Tech companies according to their latest turnover figures.
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What is Defence Tech?
Defence Tech, or defence technology, is a subsection of the broader defence industry, which focuses on emerging technologies to support innovation in military, security, and national defence. These include applications of deeptech, machine learning, cyber security, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
Much like fintech, cleantech, edtech, and other portmanteaus, Defence Tech is commonly used in investment circles to define cutting-edge technologies in the defence industry.
"Capital allocations towards Defence and National Security capabilities have the ability to shape a fundamentally new market dynamic within Europe. It is imperative therefore that procurement mechanisms also evolve to cater to this new landscape; enabling both capability adoption for National Security users, and revenue to sustain a viable European base."
The UK’s Defence Tech landscape
Based on the methodology used for this article, there are 159 Defence Tech companies currently operating in the UK, with a combined total of £14.9b* in turnover.
The Defence Tech sector also contributes approximately £6.01b in GVA across the United Kingdom. The South East accounts for an extraordinary 93% of this, with £5.62b added to the UK economy.
This can be accounted for by the fact that five of our top 10 Defence Tech companies are based in the South East, including the operational wing of defence giant BAE Systems.
Meanwhile, over 50% of Defence Tech companies are either established or have exited the private market, 18% of the companies in our analysis possess patents for their technology, and just 3.8% have been spun out from academic institutions.
* Based on 50 companies submitting full financial statements.
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Methodology
To create our top 10 ranking, companies must meet these criteria:
- Head office registered in the United Kingdom
- Be ‘active’ on Companies House
- Fall under both Beauhurst’s Military and defence and Information technology, telecommunications and data industries criteria.
We’ve then ranked these companies by turnover generated according to their latest financial statements.
All data for this article was taken from the Beauhurst platform and was accurate as of 14 March 2025.
The UK’s top 10 Defence Tech companies
Castle Precision Engineering Services
Founded: 1951
Location: Scotland
Latest turnover: £24.0m
Castle Precision Engineering Services specialises in precision manufacturing for the defence, energy, and aerospace industries. The company produces complex components designed to meet the highly-specific demands of military application.
With £24m in turnover, up £4.9m on the previous period, the Glasgow-based company comes in at number ten on our list.
Terrafix
Founded: 1983
Location: West Midlands
Latest turnover: £28.2m
Terrafix supplies mission-critical IT and mobile communications hardware to emergency and security services, including parts of the defence sector.
The Stoke-On-Trent-based company, which was founded in 1983, has recently experienced exponential growth, seeing its turnover grow from £11.1m in 2022 to £28.3m in 2023. This scored the company a position in the Tussel Tech200 2023 cohort.
CRFS
Founded: 2007
Location: East of England
Latest turnover: £28.6m
Cambridge-based CRFS manufactures and designs radio frequency (RF) intelligence equipment, used for applications in the regulatory, defence, aerospace and security industries.
The company — which has had eight patents granted across the UK, Europe, and the US — was acquired by US-based wireless tech firm Silvus Technologies in November 2020. And in 2024, CRFS posted a record-high turnover of £28.6m.
Concurrent
Founded: 1985
Location: East of England
Latest turnover: £31.7m
Concurrent manufactures high-performance single-board computers and plug-in cards, designed to operate in extreme weather conditions. Working closely with a number of industries, including military, aerospace, and communications, Concurrent has raised £8.27m in equity investment and in September 2023 acquired Phillips Aerospace.
The Colchester-based company, which was valued at £56m in its September 2023 fundraise, posted turnover figures of £31.7m according to its latest financial statement.
Sonardyne
Founded: 1971
Location: South East
Latest turnover: £101m
Sonardyne manufactures subsea technology for naval defence, specialising in underwater navigation, tracking, and surveillance. Its systems support maritime security and anti-submarine warfare with acoustic, optical, and sonar technology.
The company, which was founded in 1971 (and later incorporated in 1985), has received £1.69m worth of grants — including a £500k R&D grant from InnovateUK in 2017 — and has made five strategic acquisitions. And based on its latest financial statement in 2023, Sonardyne passed £100m in turnover for the first time.
Frazer-Nash Consultancy
Founded: 1971
Location: South East
Latest turnover: £168m
Frazer-Nash Consultancy delivers advanced engineering and technology consultancy services to the defence sector.
With expertise in cybersecurity, energy resilience, and complex systems integration, the company supports military projects across land, air, sea, and cyber domains. Its work spans secure communications, autonomous systems, and defence infrastructure.
Frazer-Nash has two patents registered with seven patent authorities globally, and has received 15 grants, worth over £1.00m. The company’s latest turnover figures are £168m, up from £126m in its previous financial year.
Roke Manor Research
Founded: 1956
Location: South East
Latest turnover: £185m
Roke is a research and development company, working across a range of sectors including defence. Founded in 1956, the company designs and manufactures military solutions aiming to provide its clients with the information advantage on the battlefield.
With £998k of innovation grants awarded, and 458 patents granted by 29 global IP authorities, Roke is one of the most innovative defence tech companies on our list.
Ultra Electronics
Founded: 1993
Location: London
Latest turnover: £287m
Ultra Electronics develops and manufactures software and products for use in the defence & aerospace, security & cyber, transport, and energy sectors.
With over 1,400 engineers and more than £150m spent on R&D to date, Ultra Electronics has had 95 patents granted across 17 authorities globally — making it one of the most innovative companies on this list. The business has also made one acquisition and spun out one company.
And with £287m in turnover, Ultra Electronics comes in at number three on our list of Defence Tech companies.
Qinetiq
Founded: 2002
Location: South East
Latest turnover: £1.91b
QinetiQ is a global defence technology company delivering research, engineering, and operational support to military and security agencies. Its expertise covers robotics, autonomous systems, advanced sensors, cybersecurity, and more.
In addition to developing integrated solutions for the military, QinetiQ also operates large-scale test and evaluation facilities, ensuring the UK’s defence capabilities remain operationally reliable.
With over 102 grants worth £28.1m awarded since 2002, the company has since spun out two companies and in 2018 acquired defence managed services company Inzpire. With almost £2b in turnover, Qinetiq eclipses almost every other company on our list.
BAE Systems (Operations) Limited
Founded: 1986
Location: South East
Latest turnover: £6.97b
BAE Systems is one of the most globally recognisable names in the defence industry. Its subsidiary, BAE Systems (Operations) Limited, is responsible for specific aspects of the company’s UK-based defence operations.
The company plays a critical role in national security, providing defence solutions in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and missile systems, in addition to further work in aerospace.
BAE Systems (Operations) Limited tops our list with over £6.97b in turnover, according to its latest financial statement.
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