£50 million defence deal for Plymouth

Hundreds of new jobs expected

A £50 million deal for Plymouth and the South West to develop defence and maritime innovation and boost national security was officially awarded by defence minister Lord Vernon Coaker when he visited the city on Wednesday.

Plymouth was the only city named as one of five key defence growth areas by the government back in September 2025 to share £250 million and the minister was joined by Labour MPs Luke Pollard and Fred Thomas and council leader Tudor Evans (Lab, Ham) at Turnchapel Wharf to formalise the investment.

It comes on the back of a £4.4 billion investment already committed to Devonport and defence commitments running to at least 2070 and the designation of Plymouth as the national centre for marine autonomy.

Plymouth has also seen a £350 million investment by defence tech firm Helsing with the opening of its first resilience factory to build AI enabled submarine hunters, Babcock’s expansion into Sherford, with a new integrated logistics hub and advanced manufacturing base ,and the confirmation of Plymouth and South Devon freeport as a defence strategic investment zone.

The defence growth deal of £50 million would help create hundreds of jobs, Lord Coaker said, and make it easier for industry to develop surface and subsurface maritime drones by cutting red tape and providing access to waterfront innovation labs and state-of-the-art testing facilities.

A Plymouth marine autonomy trials authority will be established to support start-up and marine autonomy businesses in testing and deploying maritime drones, bringing technology to the market quicker and growing their companies.

Additionally, the deal will also support Plymouth City College’s skills hub, providing technical training facilities and teaching capacity at colleges and universities to have 60 new defence-related courses such as advanced manufacturing, engineering and technology, that directly meet the needs of Plymouth’s defence industry.

Lord Coaker, who met marine start-up businesses in the city, said combined with Babcock’s 2,000-job capability centre, this investment would transform Plymouth’s city centre into a vibrant place to live, work and do business.

He said: “We pledged a defence growth deal for Plymouth and I’m delighted to be here today to deliver on that promise. 

“This £50 million investment will see Plymouth stay a world leader in maritime autonomy by making it easier for its defence businesses, creating hundreds of good jobs and boosting the defence industry across the south west.

“Plymouth is already vital for the UK’s defence, with the largest naval base in Western Europe at HMNB Devonport providing the backbone of the UK’s submarine fleet. Defence investment in Plymouth isn’t just good for the city, it directly strengthens the UK’s ability to keep our seas safe and our country secure.”

The government said the UK was delivering the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, hitting 2.6% of GDP from 2027 and south west defence sector was one of the most important and capable.

More than £6.6 billion was spent bythe MOD in the region during 2024/25 durectly supporting 37,300 industry jobs with almost £400 million going to small and medium enterprises.

South West Devon Conservative MP Rebecca Smith welcomed the investment but said there needed to be regulation reform and accelerated decision making to create the right conditions for firms to plan ahead with confidence,

“Time and again, businesses in my constituency tell me that overly strict and slow-moving regulatory processes are making it harder to innovate, invest and grow at the pace required, especially in a sector moving as quickly as defence and marine autonomy,” she said.

“The marine autonomy sector in South West Devon have everything they need here to succeed. Now we just need the government to remove the barriers and back Plymouth with the clarity and action required to let the sector thrive,” she said.