Defence sector seeks industry input on next-gen energetics manufacturing
A new UK defence initiative seeks proposals to manufacture energetic materials at home, tying industrial growth to a wider rethink of security needs.
A new UK defence initiative seeks proposals to manufacture energetic materials at home, tying industrial growth to a wider rethink of security needs.
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The Ministry of Defence has opened early market engagement on the Energetics Manufacturing Initiative, seeking proposals to manufacture energetic materials in the UK as part of its Strategic Defence Review. The move is framed around strengthening domestic production capabilities and supporting economic growth in a specialist defence sector.
Published on 19th November 2025, the notice signals that energetic materials are a defined strand within the government’s Strategic Defence Review. The Ministry of Defence wants industry proposals for the manufacture of various energetic materials, with the twin aims of enhancing domestic production capacity and fostering growth in the companies able to deliver it.
Though brief, the pre-procurement notice sets out a clear direction of travel: more of this activity should take place within the UK, underpinned by an industrial base able to keep pace with strategic requirements. By placing the initiative in the context of the Strategic Defence Review, the government links day‑to‑day manufacturing questions to its wider re‑assessment of threats, capabilities and long‑term readiness.
The focus on economic growth in the sector also matters. It suggests the initiative is not only about security of supply, but also about shaping a sustainable market for specialist materials, in which suppliers can invest with greater confidence if they see a defined demand signal from government.
The emphasis on domestic manufacture of energetic materials sits alongside other recent defence notices that place resilience and readiness at the centre of supply‑chain planning. On 14th November 2025, Defence Equipment and Support published a prior information notice for a Segmented Sourcing Strategy for munitions. That exercise is explicitly focused on enhancing supply chain resilience and readiness, and it invites feedback from industry before a more detailed sourcing model is fixed.
Both initiatives point towards a more deliberate approach to how critical defence supplies are sourced, including how risk is distributed across different suppliers and how capacity is maintained. While the Energetics Manufacturing Initiative looks at manufacturing of materials, the Segmented Sourcing Strategy considers how finished munitions are bought. Together, they show that questions of availability and reliability are no longer left solely to individual contracts, but are being treated as strategic issues in their own right.
Other parts of the defence supply chain are being examined in a similar way. In September 2025, Team Leidos issued a preliminary market engagement notice for the Supply of Battlefield Tourniquets, seeking innovative approaches from suppliers. That notice underscores how even relatively simple items are being examined through the lens of performance, reliability and access to a responsive supplier base.
Across Europe, public buyers are also re‑examining how they handle energetic and related materials throughout their lifecycle. In July 2025, Italy’s Agenzia Industrie Difesa launched a tender for a Thermal Destruction Service Procurement at the Military Propellant Factory in Fontana Liri, covering the destruction of energetic materials. The same month, the Warmińsko‑Mazurski Oddział Straży Granicznej in Poland issued a contract notice for the Supply of Training Explosives to support training activities. Together with the UK’s new initiative, these notices suggest that European defence and security buyers are paying close attention to how energetic materials are produced, used and ultimately disposed of.
Fuel supplies are also under scrutiny. In November 2025, the Dutch Ministry of Defence’s Command Materiel and IT began a Market Consultation for F-76 Fuel, seeking insights to shape a framework agreement that aligns requirements with what the market can provide. Although focused on marine fuel rather than energetic materials, the consultation reflects the same concern with understanding industrial capacity and building resilient supply arrangements.
Behind the new initiative lies a wider pattern of public‑sector investment in specialist industrial capability. On 11th June 2025, UK Research & Innovation published a contract notice for Compressed Air and Nitrogen Systems, covering the supply and maintenance of generators, carbon towers and related services at multiple sites. While technically different from energetic materials, this kind of contract shows how critical industrial services are being consolidated and managed through long‑term arrangements.
In the fusion energy sector, UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd issued a contract notice on 4th November 2025 for a Non-Destructive Testing Strategy covering in‑vessel components. That exercise aims to map out techniques and future needs, illustrating how emerging technologies are prompting buyers to think strategically about testing, assurance and the supply chains that support them.
The nuclear sector provides further parallels. On 2nd October 2025, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority went to market for an Independent Expert Support Framework to help shape strategy on decommissioning, waste management and nuclear materials. Later in November 2025, Sellafield Limited announced a prior information notice for a Laboratory Consumables Framework, followed on 19th November 2025 by Nuclear Waste Services Limited with a related notice for Laboratory Consumables and Chemicals across multiple Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Group sites. These frameworks are about ensuring dependable access to specialised materials, echoing the MoD’s interest in secure supplies of energetics.
Alongside equipment and materials, government is also investing in expertise. On 30th May 2025, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advertised a Learning & Development Course Engagement to design a training course on international security and strategic affairs, focusing on escalation, deterrence and competition between great powers. In October 2025, the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory Limited sought an Open-Source Information Provider covering nuclear technologies, security and related political issues, with a need for specialised linguistic and technical capabilities. These notices underline that materials, infrastructure and knowledge are being treated as linked elements of national capability.
The manufacturing of energetic materials interacts closely with safety, incident response and site protection. On 18th June 2025, Defence Equipment and Support’s Deca organisation published a prior information notice for CBRN Equipment Support, seeking in‑service support for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear equipment. In August 2025, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs moved to establish a CBRN Remediation Services Framework for remediation and waste management services following CBRN and HAZMAT incidents, aiming to enhance the UK’s capacity to manage such emergencies.
Security at sensitive sites is also being revisited. On 17th November 2025, Nuclear Restoration Services Limited began market engagement on a Security Services Procurement covering guarding, monitoring, access control and emergency response across nuclear sites. A week later, on 25th November 2025, the Submarine Delivery Agency outlined a requirement for Nuclear Safety Management Support at a naval base, calling for expertise in safety cases, documentation and independent safety justification assessments.
These strands – CBRN equipment support, remediation services, site security and nuclear safety management – sit alongside the Energetics Manufacturing Initiative as parts of a broader effort to ensure that hazardous and strategic materials are managed safely, from acquisition through to use and, where needed, emergency response.
The new initiative on energetic materials is still at a pre‑procurement stage, framed around exploring proposals rather than awarding contracts. Its eventual impact will depend on how far it translates into sustained demand, and how the Ministry of Defence chooses to structure any subsequent competitions for manufacturing work.
For suppliers, the combination of this notice with the Segmented Sourcing Strategy for munitions and other recent procurements suggests a more systematic view of defence supply chains, in which strategic materials, specialist services and safety arrangements are considered together. The coming phases of the Energetics Manufacturing Initiative will show how that thinking is applied in practice, and how the balance is struck between resilience, cost and industrial growth.
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