DE&S welcomes the National Audit Office (NAO) report on the UK’s support to Ukraine.

The independent public spending watchdog recognises the speed, innovation and collaboration we have shown in helping to equip and support our ally since the illegal Russian invasion began in February 2022.

In its Investigation into Military Support for Ukraine, the NAO acknowledges how we “significantly improved” procurement timescales, for example supplying wheeled anti-aircraft equipment in only six weeks compared to the usual one to two years.

For contracts under £1 million it has taken us an average of only 115 days to deliver for Ukraine, while for contracts over £20m it has taken an average of 332 days.

To achieve these shorter timescales we streamlined procurement processes, used single-source procurements where appropriate and reformed and expanded our Ops Cell to create the DE&S Operations Directorate. By the end of June this year, we had placed 715 contracts as part of the collective Ukraine effort.

DE&S CEO Andy Start said: “We welcome the NAO’s report, which recognises the crucial contribution DE&S and the UK defence enterprise has made to the Ukrainian war effort.

“The speed with which our teams mobilised and responded to the Russian invasion was outstanding and I’m extremely proud that their sustained, innovative efforts have been acknowledged.

“We are now using the learnings from Ukraine in our new operating model to become even more efficient, so we can better equip and support UK Armed Forces and our allies around the globe.”

In addition to the £2.6bn+ of aid collectively supplied by the UK to Ukraine, such as missile systems, drones, tanks, boots and helmets, the NAO report recognises:

• The creative approaches we have used, such as organising the fitting of sights to Australian L119 guns, sourcing ammunition from the US for them and bringing New Zealand military personnel to the UK to train Ukrainian soldiers to use the guns.
• Our collaboration with teams across UK MOD as well as our logistics contractor Team Leidos, which has made more than 3,000 deliveries by road for the AFU.
• The work of DE&S’ International and Industry Co-operation team in securing export permits for military equipment bound for Ukraine.
• The safeguarding of value for money for the UK taxpayer, and the role we play in managing the procurement and delivery of equipment under the International Fund for Ukraine.
• The vitally important need to replenish UK weapons and munition stockpiles.

Gareth Davies, Head of the NAO, said: “As the Ministry of Defence plans its future support for Ukraine, it must continue to balance the UK’s strategic interests with maintaining the UK’s own military capabilities. This includes making sure there are appropriate stocks of equipment and sufficient training provision for UK forces.”

Read the full NAO report here.