Annual Report 2024

Small uncrewed boats are difficult to stop with conventional defences. We integrated our platform agnostic Nautomate autonomous system onto our Pacific 24 surface vessel. We trialled Nautomate on a third-party uncrewed fast interceptor craft, which can be configured to carry out a wide range of tasks, including neutralising incoming small boats using a vessel arrest system similar to a police ‘stinger’ device for stopping cars. We also trialled and demonstrated Nautomate in our extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle (XLAUV), Herne, which went from concept to in-the-water testing in less than 11 months and is the UK’s first autonomous extra-large submarine for military use. We integrated Nautomate to operate and control Herne, whilst Canadian company Cellula Robotics designed and built the physical structure of the submarine. During sea trials, Herne showed that it could follow complex navigation instructions completely autonomously. It was able to follow waypoints without human contact, giving confidence that the vessel could soon be a powerful asset for our customers. Given its potential to patrol underwater for extended periods of time, Herne is intended to be an ideal solution for monitoring and protecting critical national infrastructure, such as undersea communications lines.

Digital connectivity is more important than ever. Reaction times in the modern battlespace have gone from hours to minutes and are moving towards seconds, as targets are identified, analysed and addressed. This drives the need for greater connectivity between equipment to share intelligence and allow military planners to decide on and execute a response. We are building the British Army’s next-generation deployable tactical battlefield network, Trinity, due for delivery from 2026, which will use our NetVIPR product to largely automate adding new equipment to share data. The software can be installed on almost any device with a standard processor and radio module, allowing products from multiple suppliers to be added to a network. To increase digital resilience, we are supporting the US Space Force Space Systems Command to build better, jam-resistant GPS receivers. We have already built a demonstration product, which we are now miniaturising and reducing the power requirement for use in smaller devices. Alongside our other investments into non-GPS navigation technologies, this will help provide more resilient positioning, navigation and timing services for military equipment, which is essential for precision navigation on the battlefield.

Our solar-powered High Altitude Pseudo Satellite, PHASA-35, completed another successful series of flight trials in 2024, firmly establishing the Group as one of the leaders in the nascent market for stratospheric aircraft that has the potential to deliver monitoring, surveillance, communications and security applications. Flying to more than 66,000 feet and cruising in the stratosphere before successfully landing, it was ready to fly again just three days later, completing another flight as part of the trials. This demonstration of PHASA-35’s ability to be launched, flown, landed, potentially reconfigured and then relaunched again so quickly proved to be a key discriminator of the novel proposition it presents.

The aircraft also carried an operational payload for the first time, demonstrating its potential to be used for a wide range of functions, including ultra-long endurance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

A new version of the aircraft, with double the solar power generation and storage capacity, is due to fly in 2025, allowing for much longer and more complex missions.

The global demand for artillery ammunition has rapidly increased in the last three years. NATO has a clear focus on strengthening stockpiles, meaning that munitions manufacturers need to grow production and ensure we have a robust supply chain.

In addition to investing in our UK infrastructure to substantially increase manufacturing capacity, we are developing our new Next Generation Adaptable Ammunition (NGAA), which is designed to accelerate production and improve standardisation through the use of new manufacturing technology for both metal and explosive components.

NGAA is designed to be a modular artillery product, allowing our customers to ‘mix and match’ the various components depending on their tactical requirement, such as high explosive, smoke or illumination. This would allow our customers to deliver greater operational agility from a smaller inventory of munitions, reducing cost and increasing operational effectiveness.

We are preparing for the future by investing in the development of our workforce’s digital skills, with 2024 being the first full year of operations of our new Global Digital Academy. The Academy was created to enhance the digital capability of our workforce, supporting growth and innovation while equipping our people to thrive in a connected, competitive, data-rich digital world.

The Academy delivers specialist programmes in areas such as cyber, data and software and builds on key partnerships with best-in-class providers and our customers, closely aligned to major business projects and programmes. Working in conjunction with experts, we have developed digital skills curricula for generalists, specialists and leaders.

During its first year, the Academy delivered a range of digital skills to over 3,000 learners with an estimated benefit of £1.2m to the business.

As part of wider learning initiatives, we will continue to expand the delivery of our Digital Skills Academy both in the UK and internationally, supporting digital skills development at a generalist, specialist and leadership level in key areas such as cyber, data and AI.

The 80th anniversary of D-Day in 2024 provided all of us at BAE Systems a moment to reflect on the pivotal events in Normandy, France, which signified the beginning of the end of World War Two. We are proud to be principal sponsor of The Winston Churchill Centre for Education and Learning located at the British Normandy Memorial in France. The centre offers a space to commemorate the D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy, helping future generations to learn about the events of 1944 and the men and women who gave so much to protect our freedoms. Our sponsorship contributed £600,000 to the construction of the centre. Other activities to mark the commemorations included inviting D-Day veterans to our facilities to see some of the military equipment we are delivering to today’s armed forces, providing transport for them to the events in Normandy, our employees volunteering on the installation of the visually impactful Standing with Giants project and our apprentices designing and building Portsmouth’s D-Day beacon.