Expert UK scientists working on defence tech innovations are to be backed by £580m of infrastructure funding from the government over the next four years, which will include the build of a new laboratory. The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is dedicated to research into new science and technologies
Kirstie Pickering
Expert UK scientists working on defence tech innovations are to be backed by £580m of infrastructure funding from the government over the next four years, which will include the build of a new laboratory.
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is dedicated to research into new science and technologies for defence. In 2018, its site at Porton Down notably analysed samples of the military-grade Novichok nerve agent used by Russia on UK soil.
The new funding, allocated as part of the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan, will help develop a new laboratory in Porton Down to enable the organisation to expand its work on biological threats. The lab will be named after former British foreign secretary Ernest Bevin, one of the founders of NATO.
To further bolster the UK’s science and technology innovation, the government has also committed £1.6bn investment for the UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) fund by 2030 to accelerate innovation, strengthen security and grow UK defence technology.
“Our scientists and experts working at Dstl do so much, often unseen, to keep our country and our allies safe at this increasingly dangerous and unpredictable time,” says Dan Jarvis, defence secretary.
“The £580m investment will create the facilities needed at Porton Down to expand their vital work, delivering for our Armed Forces and our national security.”
In more defence tech news, the government is to make the largest ever drone investment in the UK Armed Forces with more than £5bn committed over the next four years.
The investment will drive a drone transformation for the UK Armed Forces. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is to launch the Defence Investment Plan today (June 30), setting out the government’s next plans for defence spending.
