Craig Pyser, chairman of Additive Manufacturing UK (AMUK) and chief executive of AMufacture, says a new Ministry of Defence initiative being launched in 2026 could finally see SMEs take a bigger slice of the procurement pot.
Defence buyers have long struggled to understand what additive manufacturing can deliver beyond prototyping. There's no doubt that many still see 3D printing as experimental rather than production-capable, missing opportunities to solve real operational challenges. We all know that the technology works, materials are proven and processes are mature. The issue has been procurement systems that haven't kept pace.
But the newly announced Defence Office for Small Business Growth, launching in January 2026, perhaps means that change is coming. With a target to increase defence spend with SMEs by £2.5 billion by May 2028, this MOD initiative aims to address barriers that have traditionally kept innovative smaller companies out of major contracts.
I was at Defence and Security International (DSEI) UK 2025, in September, when Harrison Talbot-Brown, the MOD's deputy director of industry collaboration and strategic supplier management, outlined the current challenges. He acknowledged significant challenges to entry into the market and historically low SME spending.
This isn't a surprise to any additive manufacturer in the UK looking to break into or build sales in a UK defence industry seeing massive government investment currently. In fact, while developing AMUK's 2025 Action Plan, our extensive member consultation identified the same barriers to broader industrial adoption that mirror many of the issues Mr Talbot-Brown described.
As part of the plan, our supply chain working group has been building practical solutions to help buyers understand what UK additive manufacturing can deliver. We've developed a comprehensive case study database with 32 real-world applications, created adoption guides for companies new to the technology and we're testing an online part printability assessment system.
These tools address the daily frustration our members experience when potential clients don't know what questions to ask or how to evaluate additive manufacturing capabilities.
The Defence Office's goals - helping primary suppliers to provide consistent support experiences for SMEs in their supply chain and providing better access to opportunities through improved information sharing - suggests recognition of similar problems from the buyer's perspective.
At AMUK, our standards working group includes representatives from Renishaw and AWE. The group is engaging with Team Defence Information on Project TAMPA, which aims to develop clearer roadmaps for land, marine, and air platform requirements. This is because smaller companies struggle with qualification processes often designed for larger contractors.
What I suspect many SMEs will welcome is the commitment from the new office to specifically support small businesses to gain access to finance and growth and export assistance. Many UK additive manufacturing companies lead globally in specialised materials or complex geometries but lack regulatory expertise to navigate export licensing.
My own company is an SME contract manufacturer. What we, and our fellow SMEs need, is a procurement environment that recognises the value of agility and innovation alongside traditional metrics like cost and scale.
The additive manufacturing sector has matured significantly over recent years. We're seeing companies invest in advanced materials research, develop proprietary processes and achieve certifications that would have been unthinkable for smaller firms a decade ago. These businesses have the technical sophistication to deliver complex defence applications but often lack the commercial infrastructure to navigate defence procurement effectively.
There's also a strategic benefit here that goes beyond individual contracts. By building genuine partnerships with additive manufacturing SMEs, the MOD can help develop UK industrial capabilities that provide long-term strategic advantage. These companies are where much of the innovation happens, where new applications are developed and where the next generation of manufacturing professionals learn their trade.
From a practical standpoint, additive manufacturing SMEs offer something that larger contractors often can't: genuine flexibility. When requirements change, when new applications emerge, when rapid iteration is needed, smaller companies can respond in ways that larger organisations struggle to match. Their decision-making processes are shorter, their operations more agile and their willingness to take on unusual or challenging projects typically higher.
But success will require more than just good intentions. The new office will need to understand the specific challenges facing additive manufacturing SMEs, from material certification requirements to intellectual property concerns around reverse engineering.
The £2.5 billion target for increased SME spending by 2028 is achievable, but only if the structural barriers are genuinely addressed rather than just acknowledged. For additive manufacturing specifically, this could represent a step-change in how these technologies are integrated into defence applications.
Most importantly, the office will need to recognise that the goal isn't just to spend more money with small companies - it's to harness their innovation and agility to create better defence capabilities. If the Defence Office for Small Business Growth can achieve that, it could transform not just procurement practices, but UK defence industrial capability itself.
