The UK and Australia share an important Defence relationship, Sir Michael said as he addressed guests at an Australia Day reception at the Australian High Commission in London.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:

The bonds that bind Britain and Australia are deeper than those of any alliance of necessity or pact of mutual interest; we are family.

A century ago we fought shoulder-to-shoulder at the Battle of Passchendaele. In the present time our bond is ever more relevant as we fight modern evils; flying wing-tip to wing-tip in Iraq and Syria to hit Daesh hard, training the Afghan Army in Kabul together and sharing crucial intelligence – all things that make us both safer and more secure at home.

But our bonds are those of mutual prosperity too. Backed by a rising Defence budget, Britain will also continue to open up new possibilities in trade and innovation with Australia as the UK steps up as Global Britain.

Later this year the Defence Secretary will attend the annual Australia-UK Ministerial Meeting, to discuss foreign, defence and security policy, alongside the Foreign Secretary and their Australian counterparts.

In future, the UK will take part in a variety of joint operations and Defence Engagement with Australia. In 2018 a Royal Navy frigate will visit the Asia Pacific and participate in an annual Five Power Defence Arrangements Exercise.

Australia will also host the 2018 Invictus Games for wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans, in Sydney.

The MOD and Boeing are working together to build UK prosperity, growth, and exports across the country. As part of their commitment to the UK, Boeing signed the UK aerospace industry’s Supply Chain Competitiveness Charter, which is designed to strengthen relationships between companies and their suppliers, so that they work together more effectively to raise UK productivity and competitiveness.

Highlights of the joint initiative so far include:

• A new commercial airline hangar to be constructed at Gatwick airport, supporting more than 100 jobs

• Collaboration on a new £100m P-8A operational support and training base at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, creating more than 100 new jobs

• Boeing facilitated a visit to Seattle for 37 UK suppliers to deepen their relationships with Boeing driving enhanced prosperity in the UK

• Training courses for UK suppliers on how to win additional business with the company, further enhancing the competitiveness of the UK supply chain

• Education partnerships with the Royal Academy of Engineering and the RAF Air Training Corps in Northern Ireland, which reached more than 5,000 young people in the UK last year

Minister Harriett Baldwin said:

Britain’s defence industry plays a key role delivering an economy that works for everyone. Across the UK, Britain’s defence companies provide highly skilled, well-paid jobs with world class manufacturing exports.

Boeing expects to increase their UK workforce by 50% by 2020. This joint initiative is a prime example of the cutting edge, high-skilled, job-creating investment that our industrial strategy seeks to harness to make Britain one of the most competitive places in the world to innovate, build businesses and deliver secure, long-term prosperity for all.

The government’s Industrial Strategy will seek to make fresh choices about how the UK shapes its economy and presents an opportunity to deliver a bold, long term Industrial Strategy that builds on strengths and prepares for the years ahead. Following a period of consultation, the government intends to publish an Industrial Strategy white paper in 2017 that will set out the plan for full and long term delivery. 

Marc Allen, president of Boeing International, said:

Boeing’s partnership with the UK, which dates back to the 1930s, goes from strength to strength today. Boeing values the UK’s aerospace and defence capabilities. In both 2015 and 2016 Boeing in the UK hired, on average, a new employee per day and our relationship with the UK supply chain today has more than doubled in value since 2011.

This growth continues in 2017 and beyond, with further significant announcements to follow in the future, building on our initiative’s achievements already in place.

There is much more to come from the strategic prosperity initiative. During their meeting Minister Harriett Baldwin and Marc Allen looked ahead to the next six months of collaboration:

• Boeing will increase bid opportunities for UK suppliers and work with the government to enhance UK competitiveness. The aim is for UK companies to double their supply work with Boeing and win higher proportions of content on future Boeing aircraft.

• Boeing will make the UK its European base for training, maintenance, repair and overhaul across its defence fixed-wing and rotary platforms.

• Boeing will make the UK a base for defence exports to Europe and the Middle East, increasing UK employment and investment.

The UK and Japan have today (26 January 2017) signed the Defence Logistics Treaty to make it easier for our armed forces to work together on a range of activities, including UN peacekeeping operations and joint humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions.

This agreement follows the success of the first ever joint exercise in Japan between the Royal Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force during last year’s historic Asia-Pacific tour.

This was another example of our ever closer defence cooperation with Japan as the UK’s closest security partner in Asia.

The agreement includes practical arrangements that will allow both countries’ forces to share equipment, facilities and services in a simpler and more efficient way. It covers the exchange of supplies and services, removing the need for individual agreements on a case by case basis.

Signing the treaty at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

The UK is working together with Japan as our closest security partner in Asia to promote global security, stability and prosperity. As two leading supporters of the international rules based system, this close collaboration between our forces will help support collective efforts to tackle international and regional challenges and threats.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon welcomed the agreement and said:

Japan is an important British ally and this treaty will enable closer joint work on operations and exercises, including sharing equipment, supplies and services. As Global Britain steps up, we will continue to stand alongside our Japanese friends to meet shared interests and challenges. This agreement underlines our commitment to tacking international threats which makes Britain safer and more secure.

Japan’s Ambassador to the UK, Koji Tsuruoka, who signed the treaty on behalf of the Government of Japan, said:

This treaty marks a significant moment in Japan’s security and defence relationship with the UK, Japan’s close partner that shares fundamental values such as the rule of law and democracy. The two countries will work together on security cooperation, as well as other global issues in this changing world.

Further information

Photographs of the signing are available at Foreign and Commonwealth Office Flickr

The Defence Logistics Treaty is also referred to as an Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA). It was a commitment of the second 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministers’ meeting in January 2016, when Japan also agreed to host RAF Typhoons in October 2016 in an historic joint air force exercise – the country’s first ever with a military partner other than the USA.

UK-Japan defence and security cooperation is going from strength to strength. The UK and Japan continue to develop new defence technologies, with a particular focus on missile technology. 2016 also saw our cooperation in third countries expand from South East Asia to Africa.

As Japan prepares to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, our cooperation on cyber security is also expanding. Japan’s Olympics Minister, Tamayo Marukawa visited the UK in January to discuss the UK’s cyber expertise from London 2012 and the UK’s experience of crisis preparedness in managing large sporting events.

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Minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin launched the Innovation Initiative’s £6m Accelerator Enduring Challenge today, seeking to fast-track the innovative ideas which will keep the UK and its Armed Forces safe and secure.

Cutting-edge ideas like the life-saving device being developed by the University of Strathclyde to minimise blood loss in severely injured personnel; and 2iC’s state-of-the-art work on secure data exchange between soldiers, vehicles, and bases and between coalition partners and allies. The MOD’s investment in such innovative solutions demonstrates how the government is ensuring our Armed Forces have the most effective and innovative capability available.

The £6m Enduring Challenge is run by the MOD’s new Defence and Security Accelerator and will fast-track the best ideas by funding their development, matching suppliers with expert Innovation Partners, and boosting supplier access to defence. The competition will run regularly, with up to 12 rounds a year.

Opening the competition in London, Minister for Defence Procurement, Harriett Baldwin, said:

The Accelerator Enduring Challenge is another important step in our Innovation Initiative’s aim to transform defence. Backed by a rising defence budget and our £800m Innovation Fund, the Innovation Initiative is transforming Defence’s creative culture.

We are challenging academics and businesses of all kinds to innovate, cooperate, and build mutual security and prosperity as the UK develops its ambitious Industrial Strategy to ensure an economy that works for everyone.

The launch event in London brought together researchers, entrepreneurs, innovation centres, small and medium-sized enterprises, the defence industry and international allies to build the collaborative approach which will deliver cutting-edge defence technology.

The Accelerator Enduring Challenge builds on the previous Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) Enduring competition by increasing funding and access to government. £6m will be available for the first year of the Enduring Challenge, which includes a second phase of new funding. The first phase will look at ideas in their early stages, while the second phase will nurture promising projects, as well as offering an alternative route for more advanced ideas and technologies.

Acting Head of the Accelerator, Rob Solly, said:

Through the Enduring Challenge we are hoping to reach out to a wide supply base, which can provide us with innovative ideas that challenge our ways of thinking and operating. We will then work with selected suppliers to support them in their development towards market delivery.

The first competition of the Accelerator Enduring Challenge is now open, with a deadline of 5 April 2017 to submit proposals. The competition will then operate on a regular basis with up to 12 rounds per year.

More information is available on the Accelerator’s website.