The South Central Regional Defence & Security Cluster (SCRDSC) скачать в хорошем качестве

The South Central Regional Defence & Security Cluster (SCRDSC)

This episode dives into one of the most strategically important developments in UK defence right now: the rise of the South Central Regional Defence and Security Cluster as a serious coordinating force across industry, academia and government. Hosted by Roddy Duarte and Samantha Trivino, the conversation brings together Andrew Barnett, Chair of the Cluster and Managing Director of Barnbrook, and Alan Fisher, CEO of the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium. At its core, the Cluster is a free-to-join regional hub connecting everyone from one-person SMEs to major defence primes. Its mission is practical, not rhetorical: coordinate capability across land, sea, air, cyber and aerospace; translate between SMEs and primes; unlock accreditation pathways; surface real opportunities; and shorten the painfully slow timelines that often exclude smaller innovators from defence supply chains. The conversation tackles hard realities. SMEs face financial barriers to accreditation, limited visibility of tenders, and a cultural “language gap” when engaging with primes and government. The Cluster aims to solve this through mentoring, funding support, townhall workshops and structured collaboration programmes; moving from talk to delivery. Alan outlines how the FAC’s supply chain expertise and funding models can be adapted specifically for defence, strengthening the region’s ecosystem ahead of major touchpoints like DPR and the Farnborough International Airshow. Andrew is clear about what success looks like in 12 months: demonstrated value, real collaborative programmes delivered, and measurable benefit to SMEs, not a talking shop, but a working engine of capability. Skills development, youth engagement and long-term industrial resilience are central to that ambition.