Hampshire’s business base, significant world class research assets, and educational institutions position the region as one of the UK’s leading aerospace and defence locations with an annual turnover of £35 billion.
We are Europe’s leading business aviation airport and a key London gateway
Hampshire has a strong military presence in the area and three airports nearby (including Gatwick and Heathrow). This has resulted in a significant cluster of aerospace and defence activities which can deliver whole-aircraft capability. We have expertise in aero structures, propulsion, systems, aircraft interiors and through-life services.
Several world leading aerospace and defence businesses such as BAE Systems, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GE Aviation, Britten-Norman (the UK’s only civil A2 approved aircraft manufacturer) and Gulfstream have a significant presence. Hampshire is the place to invest in the aerospace sector.
World class business environment
The business environment also includes a world leading academic cluster and access to cutting edge research and technology. The region is a hub for innovation, encompassing artificial intelligence (AI), digitalisation, autonomy, space propulsion systems; serving multiple sectors including aerospace, automotive and marine.
Significant assets include the University of Southampton, University of Portsmouth, Roke, NATS and QinetiQ; a world-centre of excellence in research and development offering outstanding experimentation facilities, technical, engineering, and scientific expertise.
In addition to a substantial number of aerospace and defence firms, the area is home to a large, advanced engineering supply chain. The number of advanced engineering employees and engineering firms is higher than national average. Almost 9 out of 10 of aerospace businesses in the Farnborough region undertake innovation-related activities.
Farnborough International Airshow
Farnborough Airport is a key economic asset for Hampshire and the UK, being Europe’s premier business aviation airport. It is also the location for the world-famous International Air show that attracts more than 80,000 trade visitors from more than 112 countries.
Jet Zero: An emerging cluster
Jet Zero is a strategic regional response as part of Hampshire County Councils wider work on the aerospace sector and green economic transition, which is set against the Government’s national strategy to achieve net zero in aviation by 2050.
We work with industry and other partners to facilitate greener aviation across key areas, from sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), advanced materials and airport operations (including hydrogen fuel storage) to developing / deploying new technologies and systems, and next generation aircraft that offer the potential for no tailpipe CO2 emissions.
We have identified an emerging cluster with over 150 businesses with interests in Jet Zero (with a high proportion of these companies having between 1-10 employees) which between them have attracted over £24million in Innovate UK funding targeted at Jet Zero related projects.
An important aspect of the emerging cluster are ‘anchor firms’ such as Boeing, BAE Systems, Thales, Gulfstream Aerospace, QinetiQ, and Farnborough Airport, and other local niche businesses, intermediaries, and specialist providers from Farnborough Aerospace Consortium, Farnborough College of Technology, TISCIS, and the Universities of Surrey and Southampton.
We have set up a task force to work on priorities to grow this cluster including improving supply / value chain activities, global positioning to aid business expansion and inward investment, and strategic alignment to the wider innovation ecosystem.