Ian Godden, Chairman, A|D|S

MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE NATION
Aerospace, defence and security

A|D|S (www.adsgroup.org.uk) is the trade organisation advancing the UK aerospace, defence, security and space industries. Farnborough International Limited (FIL), a world-renowned events organiser that runs the Farnborough International Airshow amongst other world-leading events, is a wholly owned subsidiary. A|D|S has offices in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, France and India, with new offices planned in China and the Middle East.

A|D|S was formed from the merger of the Association of Police and Public Security Suppliers (APPSS), the Defence Manufacturers Association (DMA) and the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) in October 2009. A|D|S also encompasses the British Aviation Group (BAG) (www.britishaviationgroup.co.uk). Together with its regional partners, A|D|S represents over 2,600 companies. A|D|S also hosts the Aerospace and Defence Knowledge Transfer Network (www.aeroktn.co.uk), funded by the Technology Strategy Board that is sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)

A|D|S represents over 900 companies in these sectors, around 800 of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Together with our members and our partner organisations, such as ASD in Europe (www.asd-europe.org), we have taken the lead on a number of subjects, such as on business ethics (www.adsgroup.org.uk/ethics) where we have been engaging with government and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to develop the Bribery Act or improving the skills levels of young people to ensure that both they and our sectors have a bright future ahead.

Our industries, which employ over 500,000 people in the UK, with a significant number of apprentices and graduate recruits, represent almost 25 per cent of all UK advanced manufacturing, engineering and services, and the constituent sectors are all crucial to the economic growth that this country needs as it recovers from recession.

Aerospace
Aerospace, a high-growth sector, is a real economic strength for the UK, and the recent Icelandic volcano and snowy weather has reminded us how crucial flying is to our economy and society. The design and manufacturing industry employs over 100,000 people across the whole of the UK, generated £22.2bn in revenue in 2009 — an annual growth of 5 per cent — and is a world-leader in engines, wings and complex systems. The sector is number one in Europe and second only to the US worldwide, with a 17 per cent global market share. It has a strong supply chain from very small firms to major multinationals, and the industry’s supply chain in the 21st century programme SC21 (www.adsgroup.org.uk/sc21) is bringing companies of all sizes together across the aerospace industry and beyond to maintain this world-leading position for the long term.

The next challenge for the sector in the UK will be to harness public and private investment into the technology required for the New Short Range (NSR) programme. This will replace the current Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families. As well as an enormous potential economic benefit to the UK — around £135bn if we maintain our current 17 per cent share of the market — it will also deliver a revolutionary step-change in environmental performance. These new aircraft will be even more fuel efficient than today’s models, which in the UK are already, on average, as fuel efficient as a hybrid car. Our industry understands that although aviation produces just 2 per cent of global man-made carbon dioxide emissions, this level will grow as we grow unless changes are made. Technological advances will provide our licence to grow, and our industry is one of the most R&D intensive in the UK. Furthermore, our industry-wide initiative Sustainable Aviation, (www.sustainableaviation.co.uk), brings together aircraft manufacturers, airlines, airports and air-traffic managers to deliver the improvements in noise and emissions levels that will allow flying to continue to provide the undoubted economic benefits whilst reducing still further the environmental impact it has. The Sustainable Aviation CO2 Roadmap (www.tinyurl.com/saco2) represents one of the major parts of this programme.

Defence
Similarly to aerospace, the UK’s defence sector is a world-leader, despite the lack of recognition that it receives for this success. Again, number one in Europe and second only to the US globally, this sector also benefits from a strong SME community, with the UK having more small firms in defence than France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Norway combined. It employs over 300,000 people across the country and generated around £35bn in 2009, with £7.2bn in exports. Its main priority is, of course, to provide the best possible equipment to the armed forces via the Ministry of Defence while providing value for money for the taxpayer. Together they deliver our national security and ensure that we are able to enjoy our lives free from major threats as well as trade freely with the world. Furthermore, the strong levels of exports demonstrates the quality of UK-made equipment, and this trade between the UK Government and partner nations overseas generates international influence on the global stage.

This tremendously important contribution, which goes far beyond the raw economic benefits of the industry, is based on decisions made decades ago by both government and industry. The enormous levels of research and development alongside the investment in the people working in the industry that deliver today’s successes must be maintained to deliver tomorrow’s battle-winning equipment for our troops and continued economic benefits for our country.

The short-term budget squeeze will be extremely challenging for defence in the UK, but the sector did not become a world-leader by shrinking at the first sign of choppy waters. We intend to work with the government to secure the long-term future of the crown jewel of UK manufacturing through a strong export drive. We look forward to seeing the promised investment in the sector pick up from 2015 to support the Force 2020 vision for our troops in the longer term.

Security
UK-based companies have a strong history in the manufacture and development of security equipment, high-quality services and other solutions that help to keep the UK population safe. A good example of an area where the security industry’s capabilities are deployed for everyday applications is in aviation security. For example, UK industry develops the airport security scanning technology that every passenger passes through before they get onto an aircraft. It must be remembered, however, that x-ray systems and full body scanners are only part of the solution. Other solutions, such as the detection of suicide bombers from distance using technology, manpower-related security services, blast mitigation engineering and behavioural science are also important elements of aviation security in which the UK excels. UK companies provide over 60 per cent of airport security systems to the US Government through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Over 9,000 ‘Explosive Trace Detection’ systems are deployed worldwide for counter-terrorist applications.

For the security industry 2011 will be a tough year, but it will also offer some new opportunities. With the UK’s domestic public-security expenditure becoming heavily constrained, there is now a much greater focus on the UK security industry working with government to extend the country’s global reach and improve its export record. The estimated $140–180bn annual global security market is growing significantly, especially in key target markets such as India and Brazil, and is expected to double in the next decade. Figures released by the UK Trade and Invest Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO) in March 2010 valued last year’s UK security exports at £1.36bn, an increase of more than 14 per cent on the previous year. The UK is currently ranked sixth in terms of global security sales with 3.1 per cent of the total and with further room for future growth.

UK companies are also leading developers of multi-agency civil command team-training exercises that help ensure the effective management of major emergencies and events. People, technologies and procedures are tested together at the most senior decision-making levels. It is not just industry associations such as A|D|S who make claims about the world-leading qualities of the UK’s security industry, cutting-edge security capabilities that are recognised in the UK Government’s counter-terrorism strategy, known as CONTEST, include systems integration capabilities, resilient digital radio systems, biometric technology and CBRN defensive equipment and supporting technologies.

Space
Of all of our sectors space has proven the most resilient during the downturn, continuing to grow at 7 per cent a year. A recent 20-year growth strategy for the sector was published by a joint industry and government initiative (www.spaceigs.co.uk), and there is ample room for further growth, especially given the strong reputation that the UK has built in small satellites, innovative systems and the speed with which the sector can adapt to changing requirements in both the civil and military markets. Involvement in the European Space Agency and the imminent launch of the UK Space Agency as an executive body will, hopefully, give a further boost to a sector that has an incredibly bright future ahead of it. The space programme for government that A|D|S published during the 2010 election campaign (www.tinyurl.com/adsspace2010) highlighted that  the sector, which currently supports 70,000 jobs in the UK, could grow from £6bn today to £40bn by 2030.

In particular, space offers a powerful and environmentally friendly solution to future infrastructure needs. Over the lifetime of the service it is more efficient, more sustainable and less intrusive than ground-based systems. Whether for broadband services for hard-to-reach areas, environmental monitoring or disaster-relief, co-ordination satellites and their ground-based systems can deliver life-changing access to services or information in a much more cost-effective manner. The demand for such technology is only just beginning to grow, and the UK is well-placed to benefit providing industry and government work together to seize the opportunity.

Conclusion
To summarise, the industries that A|D|S represents are well-placed to meet the requirements of the nation. They are major employers and contributors to the economy across the whole country, strong exporters — with room for further growth — and they provide the know-how to protect us, our critical infrastructure, our trading links, the services on which we depend and the environment in which we live. Our aim, as recently set out by our new president, (see www.tinyurl.com/adspres2011), is to partner with the public sector to deliver the solutions that can drive further success in our advanced manufacturing and services businesses.

Biography of Ian Godden, Chairman, A|D|S
Ian Godden is the Chairman of A|D|S and formerly the Chief Executive of the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC), where he took up his appointment on 1 August 2007. A|D|S was formed on 1 October 2009 as the trade body advancing UK AeroSpace, Defence and Security industries with Farnborough International Limited (FIL) as a wholly-owned subsidiary. A|D|S also encompasses the British Aviation Group (BAG). It is formed from the merger of the Association of Police and Public Security Suppliers (APPSS), the Defence Manufacturers Association (DMA) and the SBAC. Ian became Chairman of A|D|S and FIL following the merger.

Ian is widely experienced in the industry and has worked in the USA and Europe as an engineer, management consultant and entrepreneur. For the last 20 years, he has been heavily involved in the international aviation, aerospace and defence industry on a wide range of strategic affairs, having consulted for many of the major US and European corporations.

Ian has held leadership roles in strategy consulting, including UK Managing Partner of Booz Allen and Hamilton and as a member of its worldwide aerospace and defence practice. He was also UK Managing Partner of Roland Berger, the Munich-based European Strategy Consultancy, and a Senior Adviser to the Parthenon Group, the Boston-based strategy consultancy.

During the 1990s Ian worked for the UK, US, South African, Dutch, Bahraini, Indonesian and German governments on various aspects of their defence policies. Additionally, in his career to date he has held a number of non-executive board positions, the most recent being with Havelock Europa plc, E2V Technology plc and Glenmore Energy Inc.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

He obtained his MBA from Stanford University, California and his BSc Chemical Engineering from Edinburgh University.

Ian is married with two children and in his rare moments of spare time he enjoys sailing and writing.