Britain’s defence export order book has surged past £20bn in 2025, the government says, the strongest year since records began in 1983. For the North, that headline translates into steady work across precision engineering, avionics and ship systems - the kind of skilled jobs that keep apprentices in the region.

The standout agreement is a £10bn deal with Norway for at least five Type 26 frigates. Ministers say it supports around 4,000 jobs across more than 430 companies of all sizes, with long supply chains stretching into Northern machine shops and specialist kit makers.

An £8bn sale of 20 Typhoon jets to Türkiye is described as the biggest fighter export in a generation. The Ministry of Defence says the order secures roughly 20,000 jobs, with Lancashire’s aerospace cluster among the beneficiaries as production and upgrade work is scheduled over several years.

Further deals include the export of 12 C‑130 aircraft to Türkiye, worth more than £550m to the UK and Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge, safeguarding about 1,400 posts. In Devon, Supacat has sold 18 heavy transporter vehicles to the Czech armed forces, underlining demand for British specialist vehicles.

All told, officials say more than 25,000 jobs are directly supported by this year’s contracts. Luke Pollard, minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, said the government is ‘making defence an engine for economic growth’, adding that there is ‘more to come in 2026’.

Security ties sit behind the numbers. London and Oslo have signed the Lunna House agreement to operate more closely in the North Atlantic, while the Royal Navy’s Atlantic Bastion work aims to sharpen submarine-hunting using more uncrewed systems.

To speed exports, the UK has joined a new Agreement on Defence Export Controls with France, Germany and Spain, making it easier for British firms to sell to partner nations. The Ministry of Defence has also set up a National Armaments Director Group and an International Collaboration & Exports team to broker deals and joint programmes. The National Armaments Director, Rupert Pearce, says the mission is to ‘strengthen international partnerships while driving economic growth at home’.

Looking ahead, a new AUKUS treaty with Australia is flagged as holding up to £20bn in export potential and more than 21,000 UK jobs over time. With workshares to be defined, officials see shipbuilding and advanced systems as likely beneficiaries if the pipeline holds.

For Northern suppliers, the appeal is stability. Large government‑to‑government deals mean multi‑year visibility on orders, allowing investment in CNC kit, test equipment and apprenticeships. It also means pressure on skills pipelines - welders, machinists and avionics technicians - that are already tight across the region.

Delivery will be the test. Schedules, export licences and currency swings will shape how far these numbers translate to payslips in 2026 and beyond. But on the government’s figures, 2025 marks a high‑water line for defence exports and a clear boost for jobs in Lancashire, Scotland and allied supply chains across the UK.