James Watson’s Post

MonsterCAM Composite Systems Ltd 's facility is one of the most mind blowing visits I've done in my nearly 8 year tenure at Make UK Defence. This is a Serious Site and this will be a fantastic event for anyone with an interest in maritime engineering, networking, composites, defence or world-class manufacturing.

Great company to work for. Needles and Pins Aerospace Ltd is really going places and expanding their facilities

Happy National Manufacturing Day everyone! It's amazing to see this bloom and blossom into something being celebrated up and down the UK as factories open their doors to the public. And get show the world what us in the know already know, manufacturing rocks. It provides well-paid, technically skilled jobs, it drives innovation and investment, it creates sovereign capability and ultimately creates products that shape our world whether its an aerosol can or aircraft, widget or warship. I am super proud of all the Make UK Defence members, from primes like Lockheed Martin to SMEs like Micrometric Ltd showing the public and inspiring the next generation of engineers with the incredible work they do. But I am especially proud of my colleagues at Make UK for creating and then developing (and developing) this fantastic initiative. #NMD2024 #makeukdefence #makeuk #ukmanufacturing #defencesupplychains Andrew Kinniburgh Jim Davison Janis Richards Chris Corkan Dawn Huntrod Darren Grantham Ben Courts Annette Hobson Kerri-Anne Mruk Kelly Maddison Samantha Hill Helen Hastie Dan Parvaz Charline Diomande Olivia Bayes-Garrould Maria Winsper

Great day out as usual at the Defence Attache Engagement event we're running with our friends at ADS Group Ltd and UKDSE at ever so slightly soggy Larkhill Camp. A brilliant showcase of our sectors vibrant export success #makeukdefence #adsgroup #ukdse #larkhill #ukmanufacturing #defencesupplychains #teamworkmakesthedreamwork Brinley Salzmann Madeleine Fleetwood Andrew Kinniburgh Kelly Maddison Samantha Hill Charline Diomande Helen Hastie Maria Winsper Dan Parvaz

Flying the flag! Looking forward to a busy couple of days at DVD Event with the Make UK Defence team of Helen Hastie, Dan Parvaz, Samantha Hill and Andrew Kinniburgh! #makeukdefence #dvd2024 #ukmanufacturing #defencesupplychains Kelly Maddison Maria Winsper Charline Diomande

Looking forward to the second edition of JOSCAR Live tomorrow in beautiful Farnborough organised by the fabulous team at Hellios Information. Last year was one of the best conferences I went to from a networking and knowledge sharing perspective. Come by the Make UK Defence stand to say hello to Kelly Maddison, Andrew Kinniburgh and myself! #makeukdefence #joscarlive #helliosinformation #defencesupplychains #networking #conference #ukmanufacturing Charline Diomande Helen Hastie Dan Parvaz Colin Maund Didde Bjerglund-Martin Samantha Hill Maria Winsper Olivia Bayes-Garrould

What an absolutely awesome day out. Sun, sea, sand, planes, good food & drink plus the company of our members = a lot of fun.

It's nearly time... In a scant few weeks the Make UK Defence team, along with 15 of our members in our pavilion will be taking over a chunk of Millbrook Proving Ground in beautiful Bedfordshire for DVD 2024 on 18th & 19th September. The UK's biggest (and best) land systems show, this show is a great way to see up close some of the latest tech in this domain. As well as learn about the innovations that underpin this in the supply chain. If you are interested in meeting up, drop me a message or pop by our stand! #makeukdefence #dvd2024 #ukmanufacturing #tradeshow #defencesupplychains #networking Andrew Kinniburgh Dan Parvaz Kelly Maddison Helen Hastie Samantha Hill Charline Diomande Olivia Bayes-Garrould Maria Winsper

Last Wednesday was pretty special. We were delighted to be hosted by General Dynamics Land Systems at their facility in Merthyr Tydfil to see all things Ajax. Not only did Andrew Kinniburgh and I get to experience the incredible Ajax up close and personal (a career in His Majesty’s Armoured Cavalry awaits if the membership gig doesn’t pan out), but we got to see them being made up close and personal. This was one of the slickest, well-organised production lines I’ve witnessed. Sometimes the manufacturing part of defence doesn’t get enough credence, but this should stand up as a great manufacturing story above any other. It was also fascinating to learn about GD’s plans for the future and how we at Make UK Defence can potentially assist them. Thanks so much to Scott Milne, Louise Purcell (MSc, MCIPS), Jonathan Ree and Alex Nash for your insight and hospitality. #makeukdefence #gdlsuk #generaldynamics #ajax #ukmanufacturing #defencesupplychains Kelly Maddison Helen Hastie Dan Parvaz Samantha Hill Charline Diomande Maria Winsper

Farnborough International Air Show = What A Show. Amazing to see so many members, meet so many new people, see so much incredible aerospace tech and participate in the AUKUS Capability Industrial Forum alongside our brother and sister trade associations from the UK, USA and Australia. Hands across the oceans indeed! All that in just 2 days! A couple of quick points, shout out to the show organisers. This was flawlessly done. Big tradeshows with a major defence component are supposed to slow and with massive queues that frustrate the hell out of delegates and mean that 10.30 meeting is missed. Not so here, I was in the car park and at my first meeting within 20 minutes. Mirror smooth operations, very impressed. Secondly, nothing on earth sounds like a F-16 in full flight. Looking forward to 2026 already. #makeukdefence #fia #aukus #tradeshows #networking #ukmanufacturing Andrew Kinniburgh Helen Hastie Kelly Maddison Samantha Hill Charline Diomande Maria Winsper Dan Parvaz Olivia Bayes-Garrould