Ministry of Defence: Research
(asked on 19th March 2025) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Ministry of Defence spent on research contracts and grants in (1) 2022–23, and (2) 2023–24; and what proportion of that spending went to UK universities.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) works to support a secure and prosperous United Kingdom (UK) through allies, industry and academia to ensure the UK has the right capabilities for defence and security. MOD records all contracts on its Contracting, Purchasing and Finance system. However, it is unable to distinguish which contracts cover research due to a lack of relevant metadata within this system.
In the time available, the following organisations within MOD have confirmed their spend (Extra-Mural Research) on research contracts and grants for the years 2022-2024:
Financial Year (FY)2022-23 Research Contracts
Organisation | Total Spend | Proportion with Universities |
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) | £387.6 million | 4.7% |
Navy Command* | £80.06 million | 0.03% |
FY2022-23 Research Grants
Organisation | Total Spend | Proportion with Universities |
Dstl | £0.4 million | 100% |
FY2023-24 Research Contracts
Organisation | Total Spend | Proportion with Universities |
Dstl | £461.1 million | 4.8% |
Navy Command | £130.85 million | 1.3% |
FY2023-24 Research Grants
Organisation | Total Spend | Proportion with Universities |
Defence Science and Technology (DST) | £10 million | 100% |
FY2023-24 Research Grants
Organisation | Total Spend | Proportion with Universities |
DNO (Rolls Royce) | £3.2 million | 100% |
* The figures provided include Navy Command spend delivered by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), £32 million in FY2022-23 and £70.03 million in FY2023-24.