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Image: UK MOD © Crown copyright 2025

The multi-year programme will deliver accelerated, vital engineering outputs to maintain Typhoon capability and pilot safety, using next generation AI and digital engineering to reduce the time and cost of getting Typhoons airworthy and mission ready, while maintaining front line capability.

The deal will sustain 250 highly skilled jobs across the UK, including SMEs, and will provide foundational technical support to the UK armed forces and export customers.

QinetiQ is investing £10 million to embed new digital and AI technology, building on an existing partnership with UK based AI SMEs, to augment high-value engineering skills to significantly increase productivity, in line with the ambitions of the government’s Strategic Defence Review and Defence Industrial Strategy. Beyond Typhoon, QinetiQ has committed to further invest to rapidly apply AI at scale to its expertise across all engineering services it delivers for the UK MOD.

This agreement will be delivered by the recently strengthened QinetiQ-led Aurora Engineering Delivery Partnership (EDP), through which QinetiQ, Atkins, BMT, Frazer-Nash, KBR and over 380 companies provide the MOD with high-value engineering services to support critical defence programmes.

Luke Pollard, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, said: “Our Typhoon fighter fleet is crucial in how we keep Britain secure at home and strong abroad, deploying across the world in support of our allies.

“Through our continued investment in the Typhoon programme and last year’s £8 billion Typhoon export deal with Türkiye, we are showing how defence is an engine for growth supporting prosperity across the country.”

Steve Wadey, Group Chief Executive Officer, QinetiQ, said: “This contract is a testament to our commitment to the government’s defence as an engine for growth agenda. We’re backing UK businesses, modernising how we deliver and ensuring the operational readiness of our armed forces.

“Working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Defence, we are investing in cutting-edge technology that increases our productivity and elevates our vital expertise, meaning we can get mission critical capability in to the hands of our warfighters at pace and reduced cost.”

The EDP sustains more than 3,000 highly skilled jobs across the UK and over 290 of the companies in the Partnership are SMEs. Primarily used by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), EDP has increased by 40% since its inception, with contracts being placed by the Defence Nuclear Enterprise and other members of the National Armaments Director Group.