Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will set out the full scope of Commercial-X.

Commercial X, established by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in 2022, is a team of Commercial officers dedicated to disrupting and modernising Defence’s approach to acquisition while reducing bureaucracy. Its mission is to deliver groundbreaking technology and innovation to the MOD more quickly. It achieves this through three key approaches:

• Positive Disrupters: A team of experts in procuring and scaling innovation and digital solutions at speed. They collaborate directly with frontline teams to deliver contracts valued up to £50 million within two years, driving pace by innovating within existing processes.
• Modernising Procurement: A team committed to overhauling procurement processes and policies to better support fast-moving innovation, cutting through excessive bureaucracy and red tape.
• Specialist Skills Development: A development programme designed to build the commercial officers of the future—equipping them to be digital-savvy, risk-smart, customer-focused, and agile.

Notable deliverables to date: delivery of circa 650 innovation and technology contracts with an average time to contract of 31 days, 47% faster than average timelines for similar procurements. The creation of two new platforms to support small, business-friendly buying routes where suppliers can compete for contracts in technology and innovation. Recent notable contracts include: DragonFire, Hypersonics and NATO Allied Underwater Battlespace,