Reports, Analysis & Commentary

The State of UK Defence SME Procurement 2026

On the architecture of UK defence acquisition reform

"Twenty-eight reforms in sixty-five years. None built the layer that was missing."

The UK has reformed defence acquisition twenty-eight times in sixty-five years. This report argues that every reform missed the same thing: a structured discipline for defining what capability is needed before requirements, programmes and suppliers take over. Espanaro proposes twenty-one reforms across a four-layer acquisition model.