I’m forever championing our area, and the important work and potential we have here, especially in defence and aerospace. Given the uncertain times we find ourselves in, defence work done locally is crucial to Britain’s and our allies’ national security, good jobs, and is an engine for economic growth.
Announced late last year, an £8 billion deal with Türkiye to build 20 Typhoon jets has secured 20,000 jobs across the UK, including in our community. Following its announcement, I met with the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP, and raised it within the House of Commons to welcome the deal, which can be see here.
In January 2026, I visited Rolls-Royce to congratulate staff tasked with building key components for the new Typhoon EJ200 engines, and leading on maintenance, following the UK Government securing part of the deal with Türkiye in the largest fighter jet deal in a generation.
Typhoons are the RAF’s primary fighter jet, with the aircraft protecting the UK’s skies around the clock, as well as deploying on operations worldwide. Recently, they have been used to support NATO allies in Eastern Europe and operations against Daesh in the Middle East.
Rolls-Royce were also awarded a £563 million contract by the Ministry of Defence, supporting 200 jobs, majority of which are based in Bristol. The five-year Typhoon Engine Support Solution (TESS) contract will see the continued maintenance and repair of EJ200 engines for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoons.
This deal and the Typhoon programme supports more than 1,000 high-skilled jobs in the South West, including in Rolls-Royce and QinetiQ who are both based in Filton. QinetiQ was awarded a £205 million contract extension in 2026 to continue their support of the Typhoon programme by the Ministry of Defence which has secured 250 high-skill jobs nationally, including here in our community.
I previously visited Rolls-Royce with the Prime Minister in April 2025 to meet with apprentices, graduates and staff who work on key projects for Britain’s national defence. [NEW] As Labour continues to champion apprentices across the UK, I also met with apprentices at the GKN Aerospace Global Technology Centre in January 2026 and heard first-hand how the West of England Institute of Technology is helping equip local young adults with a competitive skillset for modern aerospace engineering.
On another separate occasion, I joined the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry at Rolls-Royce after the Labour Chancellor announced additional plans to shore up Britian’s national security and increase defence spending by £2.2 billion.
Outside of defence, I have championed our aerospace industry by visiting Airbus’ Filton site alongside Transport Heidi Alexander in October 2025 following its announcement that it has accepted an order of 100 Airbus A321neo aircrafts from the Vietnamese airline, VietJet. The visit followed the Labour Government’s push for the adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) to support the UK’s leading aviation sector to deliver manufacturing jobs and growth, while maintaining the government’s commitment to clean energy. [NEW] I went back to Airbus at the beginning of 2026 to talk to them on the developments in the SAF Bill which passed through the House of Commons in the weeks before and meet with trade union, Unite the Union.
Thank you to everyone locally working in our vital defence industry – what you do could not be more important at this time. As I hope this shows, it is seen and appreciated at the very highest level.