The sold-out Swindon Defence Networking and Insights event took place at the STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway on Friday 24th April.
Organised by SDO Associates, the event brought together companies ranging from sole traders and micro-enterprises to large defence primes and integrators.
Support came from a number of industry partners, including gold sponsor Stark, alongside Tekever, Digital Manufacturing Centre and Influence PR.
A central theme of the day was investment in uncrewed systems and advanced manufacturing. Companies including FlyBy Technology, ICOMAT, MyDefence and Neros were cited as part of a growing cluster in and around Swindon.
Organisers said the aim was to combine high-level briefings with practical networking to strengthen collaboration across what they described as a rapidly expanding regional ecosystem.
Stu Olden, chief executive of SDO Associates, said:
“We set up Swindon Defence Networking and Insights to deliberately cohere the triple helix of government, industry and academia, creating a sustainable ecosystem that is ready to support the delivery of UK defence capability,” he said.
He added that uncrewed systems would play a central role in future defence strategy and argued that the UK must be prepared to scale up skills, manufacturing and collaboration at pace.
Olden also highlighted the role of Will Stone in attracting defence firms to the area, describing his efforts as instrumental in shifting Swindon’s identity towards advanced manufacturing.
Mike Armstrong, managing director of Stark UK, said recent conflicts had demonstrated how quickly defence technology is evolving.
“The international security environment is deteriorating, and recent conflicts have shown how quickly technology is evolving,” he said.
“To respond to that threat, we need to develop and produce advanced defence systems, which requires closer collaboration across the sector.”
He described the event as an opportunity to strengthen relationships across the UK supply chain and support the growth of defence manufacturing locally.
Jim Robbins, leader of the council said:
“It was excellent to see so many companies coming to Swindon to talk about joining and investing in our emerging Drone Cluster, and great to see the MOD speakers talking about the upcoming opportunities here.
“Labour are committed to building on our industrial heritage and world-class reputation as an advanced manufacturing hub, and creating more skilled jobs for the town, cementing our place as one of the most productive places in the UK.”
The event forms part of a wider effort to grow what organisers are calling an uncrewed systems network, focused on readiness, shared capability and long-term economic impact in Swindon and Wiltshire.
