North Defence has officially opened its new UK production facility, in Yorkshire.
The iconic red brick factory on the historic Rosemount Estate in Elland has been carefully refurbished in a fast-paced, six month project to bring the building back to its former glory.
The original brickwork acts as a powerful backdrop to a 10 tonne crane, state of the art production bays, and a design and engineering hub led by recently-promoted CTO Luke Homewood. Modern workspaces for the wider team – and a striking ‘floating’ boardroom looking out over the shopfloor – have also been included in the fit-out.
The investment means North Defence has doubled the size of its production space, which now stands at 50,000 sqft.
But VIP delegates invited to join the opening ceremony – including dignitaries from the UK and Luxembourg defence supply chains – were the first to be informed of plans to quadruple North Defence’s manufacturing capacity, with a further announcement expected later this month.
Guests were also treated to an exclusive glimpse of the firm’s next-generation technology, as the team unveiled its new unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) – wholly designed and manufactured in-house using components from the sovereign supply chain. This will now be sent to Switzerland to complete rigorous NATO trials, with a full market launch expected later in Winter.
A cinematic production featuring a behind-the-scenes insight into the manufacturing process, as well as moving footage from the front line in Ukraine, then set the stage for a powerful message from North Defence’s founder and CEO, Oliver North.
Speaking passionately about sovereign capability in defence procurement, he said: “In Ukraine, over 70% of defence spending is with privately owned businesses, primarily SMEs, in stark contrast to the 4% of defence budget given to SMEs in the UK.
“But we’re here. We’re ready. We’ve developed and sharpened our tools on the most modern battlefield on the planet, supported by some of the smartest and most agile British tech partners around. And we’ve invested significantly to show our intent.
“The ecosystem needs SMEs in order to deliver the best protection for our nation, so supply chain collaboration has never been so important.”
Paying particular respect to North Defence’s new home, he added: “With this site tracing its origins back to the 1850s when it was an engineering powerhouse, I could think of no better location for our UK HQ. This investment represents a new league of capability, for us as a business, for British manufacturing, and for the European defence agenda.”
Barista Vadym Granovskiy from Ukraine complemented the event’s catering with his iconic ‘flat red’ drink, an unusual combination of espresso and pomegranate juice made famous at his ‘Coffee in Action’ cafe in Ukraine, before the site was destroyed in Russian attacks.
Offering a concluding thought, Oliver said: “17 missions to Ukraine haven’t only taught me how our technology needs to adapt to the evolving needs of the modern battlefield. Every visit recharges my Ukrainian spirit. That’s why there’s a flavour of Ukraine in everything we do here, even down to the coffee.”
The final slide of the session closed with: “To the primes – if you’re serious about sovereign mobility, you need to know where the capability already exists. We’re here. We’re ready. Pick up the phone.”
North Defence opened a new European headquarters in Luxembourg, last year, in the presence of Luxembourg’s Directorate of Defence, led by Defence Minister, Her Excellency, Yuriko Backes.