The UK is emerging as Europe’s primary destination for defence manufacturing investment – particularly drone manufacturing.
Almost 200 defence manufacturing facility investments have been announced or opened across Europe since the start of 2024, with the UK ranking as the region’s leading destination for new production capacity investment, according to research published by Cushman & Wakefield.
In total, 34 of the 197 investments (17%) have been directed to the UK, followed by 27 in Germany (14%), 26 in France (13%) and 12 in Spain (7%).
The UK has established itself as Europe’s leading hub for emerging defence technologies, accounting for 10 of the 21 drone and autonomous vehicle production facility openings and investment announcements since 2024.
“Alongside established strengths in aerospace and naval manufacturing, we are seeing increasing investment in drones, autonomous systems and other advanced defence technologies,” said Tim Crighton, head of logistics and industrial, UK and EMEA, at Cushman & Wakefield.
“These sectors are creating demand across a broad range of industrial assets, from purpose-built production facilities to existing industrial buildings that can be adapted and brought into operation swiftly. Working across a range of these projects, we can see the significant investment going into these facilities, which in turn is driving economic growth and new skilled employment opportunities.”
Earlier this month, defence, aerospace and energy industry start-up Isembard opened a 160,000 sq ft factory in Southwark, London. The manufacturer produces components for a range of business, including US military technology company Anduril, which speclialises in the development of advanced autonomous systems.
The UK has also attracted eight aircraft and naval manufacturing investments, the second-largest share of a category that has generated 43 facility commitments across Europe. Only artillery and munitions has attracted more investment activity, with 52 facility announcements, much of it concentrated in central and eastern Europe.
Sally Bruer, head of EMEA logistics and industrial research at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “What is particularly notable is how quickly defence manufacturers’ investment is translating into real estate requirements. More than half of the facility commitments we tracked involve new sites, reflecting manufacturers’ need to increase capacity and secure long-term production capability.
“As large procurement programmes move through the supply chain, we expect this to drive increasing demand for smaller and mid-sized industrial facilities across the broader supplier ecosystem as businesses expand production capacity to support the next phase of defence growth.”
The UK government’s Defence Investment Plan has committed an additional £15bn between 2026-27 and 2029-30, taking planned defence investment to around £298bn over the four-year period.
