Defence Growth Deal provides £50million boost to °µÍø½âÃÜ and South West

The University played a key role in the UK Government announcement and is critical to delivering its vision of defence-driven growth
Lord Coaker, Luke Pollard MP and Fred Thomas MP join representatives from the °µÍø½âÃÜ, Team °µÍø½âÃÜ and the city's marine autonomy sector for a roundtable discussion at the University's Marine Station

Defence Growth Deal provides £50million boost to °µÍø½âÃÜ and South West

The University played a key role in the UK Government announcement and is critical to delivering its vision of defence-driven growth
The °µÍø½âÃÜ has welcomed confirmation that the UK Government will be investing £50million to drive defence-related innovation in °µÍø½âÃÜ and the South West.
The °µÍø½âÃÜ Defence Growth Deal – first outlined by the Ministry of Defence in September 2025 – will create hundreds of new jobs and skills opportunities in the region, reinforcing °µÍø½âÃÜ’s place as a leader in technologies that helps keep the UK safe at sea.
It will enable the University to invest in new technologies that enhance the work we do with the city’s marine technology businesses and can be used in research and teaching in our own facilities and across °µÍø½âÃÜ Sound.
It will create new opportunities for current and future students through an investment in technical training facilities and teaching capacity, allowing us - together with partners including City College °µÍø½âÃÜ - to develop 60 new defence-related courses at locations across the South West in disciplines such as advanced manufacturing, engineering and technology.
These will be developed with, and directly designed to meet the needs of, °µÍø½âÃÜ’s defence industry and will offer increased engagement with some of the city’s most advanced industries that benefits our graduates‘ prospects and careers.
Building on our close connections with partners in the city and region, including our role in the Team °µÍø½âÃÜ consortium, it will also foster new possibilities for us to apply our expertise and influence in ways that benefit everyone living and working in our city.
The investment was announced by the Defence Minister Lord Vernon Coaker during a visit to °µÍø½âÃÜ, which included a visit to the marine autonomy businesses working out of the city’s Turnchapel Wharf.
He then took a tour of °µÍø½âÃÜ Sound on the University’s Falcon Spirit before docking at our Marine Station, where he was shown some of the autonomous devices being tested and developed by our academics.
The Marine Station also provided the setting for a discussion event on marine autonomy that was chaired by our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard Davies, and attended by University staff in addition to city MPs, community and business leaders.

The University has a critical role to play in training students who will work at every level of the marine autonomy sector, and hundreds of our graduates are already having a real and positive impact in this exciting industry.

This investment will also enable us to expand our research and innovation, and to work more closely with partners including the Royal Navy, Babcock and other local companies on technology development, testing and deployment that enhances the UK’s security and resilience. We are also uniquely placed to continue bringing our community – and the organisations within it – together, encouraging existing and new partners to collaborate and deliver on the mission that we've been clearly given.

Richard DaviesProfessor Richard Davies
Vice-Chancellor

°µÍø½âÃÜ Vice-Chancellor, Professor Richard Davies, on board Falcon Spirit with Defence Minister Lord Coaker and °µÍø½âÃÜ MPs Fred Thomas and Luke Pollard
Our Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Davies (far right) on board Falcon Spirit with Defence Minister Lord Coaker and °µÍø½âÃÜ MPs Fred Thomas and Luke Pollard
The investment includes expanding the capabilities of the National Centre for Marine Autonomy, which the University helped to formally launch in March 2026, making it easier for industry to develop surface and subsurface maritime drones by cutting red tape and providing access to waterfront innovation labs and state-of-the-art testing facilities. It will also lead to the establishment the °µÍø½âÃÜ Marine Autonomy Trials Authority to support start-up and marine autonomy businesses in testing and deploying maritime drones, bringing technology to the market quicker and growing their companies.
The announcement comes just a week after the University was selected to lead a regional initiative, supported by up to £20million of investment through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund. That will enable increased research and development into technologies that can be deployed on land, at sea and in the air which ultimately result in it becoming home to a Global Autonomy Cluster. 

These new announcements represent a really important stage in °µÍø½âÃÜ’s defence investment journey.

Working with our partners in the city and region, we’ve identified key barriers that we need to overcome if we are to realise the National Centre for Marine Autonomy’s ambitions. The Defence Growth Deal funding will enable us to address those barriers enabling businesses to access the skills they need to make sure that they have a workforce that can enable them to innovate and grow.

Adrian DawsonMr Adrian Dawson
Director of Strategic Project Development

The new investment directly responds to a commitment to expanding the UK’s autonomous maritime expertise, detailed in the UK Government’s Strategic Defence Review.

We pledged a Defence Growth Deal for °µÍø½âÃÜ and I’m delighted to be here today to deliver on that promise. This £50m investment will see °µÍø½âÃÜ stay a world leader in maritime autonomy by making it easier for its defence businesses, creating hundreds of good jobs and boosting the defence industry across the South West. °µÍø½âÃÜ is already vital for the UK’s defence, with the largest naval base in Western Europe at HMNB Devonport providing the backbone of the UK’s submarine fleet. Defence investment in °µÍø½âÃÜ isn’t just good for the city, it directly strengthens the UK’s ability to keep our seas safe and our country secure.

Lord Coaker
Minister of State for Defence
Lecturer in Autonomy Aaron Barrett and Dr Keiron Fraser, Associate Professor in Marine Conservation, talk to Defence Minister Lord Coaker and °µÍø½âÃÜ MPs Luke Pollard and Fred Thomas about the °µÍø½âÃÜ's marine autonomy expertise
Lecturer in Autonomy Aaron Barrett and Dr Keiron Fraser, Associate Professor in Marine Conservation, talk to Defence Minister Lord Coaker and °µÍø½âÃÜ MPs Luke Pollard and Fred Thomas about the °µÍø½âÃÜ's marine autonomy expertise
 

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