Reflections from DPRTE 2026
For over a decade, the Defence Procurement, Research, Technology and Exportability (DPTRE) conference has been an industry pillar in defence procurement and supply chain innovation. Featuring expert-led sessions and providing a major networking platform to help organisations navigate new policies, funding streams, and operational requirements following the Strategic Defence Review, this year five of our Cundall defence sector experts hosted a networking dinner and attended the conference. Some of them have shared their reflections from DPRTE 2026.
Keith Richardson, Defence Sector Lead, gave his thoughts on the Defence Investment Plan:
“As the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) remains unpublished with no confirmed release date, questions are mounting over whether it will offer the clarity, scope and actionable direction required to guide the defence industry with confidence. With estimates ranging from £400 to £700 billion of strategic pipeline work projected across the public sector, the defence estate faces a disproportionate challenge: decades of underinvestment have left both the utility infrastructure and the wider built environment, accommodation blocks, technical facilities, hangars, workshops, training buildings and critical operating infrastructure struggling to meet modern requirements. Against this backdrop, stakeholders are now asking whether the DIP will fully commit to major capability pathways such as Atlantic Bastion, Hybrid Carrier Air Wings, USV fleet expansion, hybrid powertrain technologies, the Army, Next Gen RAF, and the Sovereign Warhead Programme, or whether we risk receiving a 10-year plan too vague to deliver with confidence. Complicating matters further is the likelihood that sensitive programme details will be held at higher classifications, reducing transparency at precisely the moment when industry alignment, capital planning and estate modernisation are most essential. Without a clear, integrated and properly detailed DIP, one that confronts the reality of both the ageing built estate and the outdated utilities underpinning it, defence risks trying to build the future force on foundations never designed to meet the demands of today, let alone tomorrow.”
Charlotte Mercer attended DPRTE for the first time this year, and felt there was a great deal to take away:
"The conference really brought home the scale and urgency of the challenges facing the UK defence estate. With more than 100,000 assets and around 1% of the nation’s metered energy use, it’s an estate under real pressure. Speakers openly acknowledged that decades of underinvestment in core utilities have left structural vulnerabilities that today are being exposed by energy price volatility, rising operating costs and increasing environmental responsibilities.
Energy spending has jumped from £320 million before the conflict in Ukraine to almost £600 million last year, and that shift is driving the MOD to think differently, whether through Power Purchase Agreements, new private‑finance models or a more programmatic, aggregated approach to resilience. The message was clear: small, incremental fixes won’t cut it anymore.
What’s needed now is a bold, coordinated programme to renew the defence estate’s utilities at scale - something capable of meeting Clean Power 2030 commitments while building a modern, resilient and efficient estate that can support national security for decades to come."
Daniel Floyd also attended for the first time, and found a consistent idea throughout the two day conference:
"A clear theme ran throughout the event: the defence sector is experiencing real momentum, with a substantial pipeline of work coming through. This ranges from cutting‑edge science and technology - helping the MOD keep pace with rapid advancements through organisations like the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory - to the evolution of the UK’s future nuclear capability with AWE.
Across the board, there was a strong sense of increasing MOD readiness. Discussions consistently pointed to infrastructure, delivery and capability shifting into a more prepared and proactive state. The pipeline, particularly through the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, appears robust and growing.
However, much of this forward motion hinges on the Defence Investment Plan. At the outset of the conference, the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard, acknowledged the high level of anticipation surrounding the document. While it isn’t ready for publication just yet, it is actively in development and expected to be released soon.”
We look forward to attending again in 2027 and are excited to see how the defence sector continues to thrive over that time.
