Could Greater Lincolnshire build on its aviation history to become a leading player in the defence and security industry?

It envisions Greater Lincolnshire as a national hub for defence and security innovation, production, and service, and hopes to attract new enterprises to the area.

The launch, at Lincoln’s Usher Gallery, attracted more than 70 guests spanning various sectors.

The region already has a wealth of companies in this sector, some of which were showcased at the event, including Metrea, Metis, J2DE, and Eagle Eye.

Metis, for instance, works with drones and has previously helped with unmanned aerial vehicles over Gatwick airport.

J2DE offers training for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, while Eagle Eye specialises in drone training both in commercial and military circles.

Metrea Mission Data uses cutting-edge software techniques and predictive analytics to solve complex data challenges.

The initial proposals worth £300 million of investment for RAF Scampton also draw heavily on aviation and aerospace, although their future is under doubt due to government plans for asylum-seeker housing at the site.

Lincolnshire also remains a key site for the Ministry of Defence, with Typhoons stationed at RAF Coningsby and the UK’s remote drone programme at RAF Waddington.

The cluster’s objective is to take advantage of opportunities across diverse sectors, including agri-tech where UAVs are utilised for ground penetration and harvesting.

The focus is on helping individuals to address the challenges and innovations emerging, and particularly connecting smaller businesses to opportunities.

Jim Pennycook, of the Defence and Security Accelerator, said: “There’s a growing realisation that in order to achieve the military capability we need, there needs to be this collaboration between the MoD, industries, SMEs, academia and local government as well,” he said.

After the event, Julian Free, Greater Lincolnshire local enterprise partnership’s defence and security board chairman, said: “The more companies we have, then the more opportunity there is for people to move between companies and grow their career, and stay in the region. That’s good for all of us at the end of the day, because it’s about putting more money back into the region.”

The initiative is anticipated to stimulate innovation and collaboration, thereby further fortifying the region’s defence and security sector.

Mr Free said: “The Lincolnshire defence and security network cluster will bring greater understanding of local small and medium-sized enterprises and their activities and capabilities, which together means we’ll be able to put forward much more collaborative solutions we wouldn’t normally come up with.”

Alex Munro, of Eagle Eye, said; “Greater Lincolnshire is a fantastic place for defence and security and for networking and for that collaborative approach. If the cluster is able to facilitate regular get togethers, it’ll give us an opportunity to work together, identify these opportunities which are everywhere and all you need to do is get together, talk about things and a pathway can quickly be created, understood and developed.”

Karl McCartney, Lincoln MP, hailed the initiative as “brilliant” news.

He said: “It’s all good for the MoD, for RAF Waddington, but also for the small, medium and large companies that are part of the supply chain for the MoD based across Lincolnshire.”