“We are backing small businesses up and down the UK,” said Defence Minister Luke Pollard as the MoD used Small Business Saturday (6 December) to set out fresh support for regional innovators. Since July 2024, £35 million has flowed to SME-led defence tech, with a ringfenced £400 million a year now in place for UK Defence Innovation.

The Defence and Security Accelerator, drawing on Dstl’s scientists and engineers, is helping smaller firms push proven prototypes into service and into civilian markets too - from healthcare to transport. The aim, officials say, is practical kit for the frontline and real orders for local suppliers.

Scotland’s QuickBlock is a case in point. Its flat‑packed building blocks, first designed for civilian use, have been adapted for ballistics and blast protection - the sort of modular infrastructure that can be built fast and taken down just as quickly.

In Wales, Swansea University spin‑out Trauma Simulation has developed whole‑body training models so Combat Medics and MERT teams can rehearse life‑saving procedures in realistic conditions before deployment. The firm’s tech speaks to a wider theme: defence spend seeding high‑skilled work in university towns as well as industrial estates.

Down in the South West, Sentinel Photonics has grown from a founder‑led start‑up of former Dstl scientists to a 20‑strong team. Its rifle‑scope attachments protect soldiers’ eyesight from lasers and block laser surveillance - and are now integrated into KS1 rifles entering service.

For readers in the North, the direction of travel matters. Nearly 70% of defence spending already lands outside London and the South East, with 2023/24 MoD figures showing rises in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West - up 19% and 18% respectively. That points to a larger pipeline for regional supply chains if smaller firms can win their place on programmes.

The government’s numbers suggest this isn’t a one‑off. Independent research for DASA found its funded companies generated nearly £1 billion in economic value, created more than 1,800 jobs and raised £174 million in 2024 - proof, ministers argue, that defence spend can back growth beyond the M25.

Policy levers are being set to keep money moving. The Strategic Defence Review commits 10% of the MoD equipment budget each year to novel technologies. A new Defence Office for Small Business Growth is being stood up, with a target to increase direct SME spending by £2.5 billion by May 2028.

“Innovation knows no boundaries,” said DASA head Anita Friend, arguing that strong ideas are emerging in every nation and region - and that her team will keep backing the best, wherever they start. The latest regional case studies run from the Highlands to Cornwall.

There’s still work to do on delivery. Ministers have promised faster, simpler procurement - cutting timelines for some buys and upgrades - because good inventions only count when they turn into kit in service and orders on the books. With the UK’s small business population rising to 5.64 million - the first growth since 2020 - the opportunity is there for firms outside London to make this wave count.