Lockheed Martin wants UK satellite factory
February 17, 2023
By Chris Forrester
US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin is looking to build a UK satellite factory. The news emerged at an event organised with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and RTC North to “provide an opportunity for over 100 attendees from suppliers across the North East to fulfil their potential in delivering defence capabilities and contribute to regional and UK prosperity”.
The event was held at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, where a series of talks were given and exhibits on show from across the space and defence industry.
Paul Livingston, Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin UK, said, “SMEs play an important role for us in the UK and so we were delighted to host this event and support the development of the North East’s already thriving space sector. We are committed to helping the UK become a space nation and contribute to Levelling-Up the economy.”
A representative from the Ministry of Defence, added: “Today’s event with Lockheed Martin and RTC North highlighted the scope and range of supplier capability in the North East. We hope that the event will help more of these diverse and innovative suppliers fulfil their potential to deliver defence capability and contribute to regional and UK prosperity.”
Alan Whittaker, Head of Supply Chain Programmes at RTC North, commented: “It was great to work with Lockheed Martin in delivering a highly informative event for SME’s involved in supply chains. The excellent line up of speakers and subject areas helped the delegates to understand more about accessing supply chain opportunities in the defence and space sectors.
“We look forward to delivering further activities across the north of England and understanding the impact through more engagement within supply chain programmes.”
This event builds on The Space Sector Skills and Supplier Summit which Lockheed Martin hosted in 2022, that brought together supply chain representatives from the North East industry, with a view to identifying new partners from industry and academia to support the North East’s UK space ambitions.