Establishing A Bridgehead
bridgehead | ˈbrɪʤˌhɛd | “any area that an army takes from an enemy and from which it can move forward to make an attack”, Brittanica
What This Is. Just as the UK is about to spend more on defence than at any point since the Cold War, our procurement apparatus has become as formidable an adversary as any foreign power. Money is finally flowing but those who need it face a maze of portals, frameworks, accreditations, cycles, regulations, relationships and requirements. The Bridgehead is a foothold on that byzantine territory from where the next generation of suppliers can advance.
Who It’s For. The Bridgehead exists to provide the tactical clarity a founder needs, to mine practical insights for SMEs and to pose the questions business development directors should be asking. It aims to help players great and small understand how Defence buys, what it buys and where the gaps are. And it aims to map the blossoming ecosystem of investors, consultancies and subject-matter experts who service those businesses.
Why Bother. Because the most successful providers of the next twenty years will be those who, rather than attempting to transcend the system or waiting – forlornly – for change, instead work with what we have. They will know that practical understanding of how Defence buys is just as important as price, technology, capacity, track-record or political will. In other words, they will treat the turgid business of procurement with the seriousness it deserves and build their commercial strategies around it.
Where It’s Pointing. Britain needs to buy weapons, supplies and equipment, from batteries to ultra-high-complexity command networks, at scale and at pace. Defence companies need to develop, prove, manufacture and, ultimately, sell these. Crucially, the collective effort needs to harness a budding culture of SMEs, dual-use commercial technologies and nascent funding sources, many of which are neglected from birth.
Who’s Writing. The author has worked across the defence establishment – as a user, in procurement and as a consultant – and across sectors, from pure-play defence to politics, cyber and intelligence. He’s read reams of sources only skimming the surface of deals, diving so deeply they drown or gaily veering into conjecture. He is aiming for a thorough, practical understanding of how the market works to help himself, help others and help his nation pass an urgent test:
The Achievement of Quick, Effective, Deterrent Rearmament
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