The Defence Industrial Triptych ― Government As a Customer, Sponsor and Regulator of Defence Industry

The relationship between government and the businesses that contribute towards the defence and security of the state is a critical one; it often underscores a modern state’s foreign policy and sense of place in the world. Yet, despite its clear importance, this subject is underexplored and rarely analysed in a rigorous manner. As a consequence, government defence industrial policies, if they exist at all, often seem somewhat contrived, ill-considered and contradictory.

The Defence Industrial Triptych systematically analyses the components and drivers of the relationships that bind a government to its defence industrial base by examining three major case studies: the UK, US and Germany, who between them account for over three quarters of NATO defence spending. The features of their defence industrial relationships –whether common or unique – provide vital lessons for policy-makers, industrialists and the taxpayer. As defence cuts bite across NATO and as the UK approaches the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the relationships this Whitehall Paper considers are more important than ever.

Henrik Heidenkamp is a Research Fellow for RUSI’s Defence, Industries and Society Programme (DISP). His current research interests are the role of the private sector in defence, national and international defence-management approaches and contemporary aspects of European security and defence policy. Henrik is also a lecturer, consultant and frequent media commentator on European security and defence industrial policy (including Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Gulf News, Economic Times, Deutsche Welle and Reuters). Further, he acts as a mentor for the RUSI/University of Roehampton Business School PhD Programme.

John Louth is Senior Research Fellow and Co-Director for Defence, Industries and Society at RUSI. He served as an officer in the Royal Air Force for sixteen years before working as a consultant and programme director extensively throughout the defence and energy sectors. His work has included the audit and governance of the UK strategic deterrent and government-industry partnering initiatives. John is also a specialist adviser to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee and a non-executive adviser to NDI Ltd. He teaches at Roehampton University Business School in London, his work is published across a broad spectrum of outlets and he is a regular commentator for the BBC, ITN, Sky News and Al Jazeera networks.

Trevor Taylor is Professorial Fellow at RUSI where he co-directs the Defence, Industries and Society Programme. He teaches for Cranfield University at the Defence Academy, where he was head of department for twelve years, and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. For six years he was an elected council member of the Defence Manufacturers Association and he has also headed the International Security Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs.