The UK has relied primarily on overseas suppliers in the United States and Japan for advanced ultra-high-temperature materials used in defence applications, according to a government response to a parliamentary question.
Responding to questions from James McMurdock MP, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said that Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC), a class of materials used in high-performance defence and aerospace systems, are “predominantly available from the USA and Japan,” while noting that other countries are also seeking to develop supply capabilities.
CMCs are valued for their ability to withstand extreme temperatures and mechanical stress, making them relevant to applications such as propulsion systems and high-speed platforms. Pollard also indicated that the scale and nature of potential UK exports in this area remain unclear at the current stage of industrial development. He stated that “the type and magnitude of exports for defence and civil applications is unknown” as domestic capability continues to mature.
The minister further noted that export controls are already in place to safeguard high-performance CMC materials developed within the UK. These controls are intended to manage the transfer of sensitive technologies as domestic production capability expands.
The answers follow a Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) announcement earlier this month describing a UK-first achievement in advanced materials, part of wider efforts to strengthen sovereign capability in critical defence technologies.
The bigger worry should be what are we reliant upon from a single country? That said, given the amount of Western kit still appearing in Russian missiles and drones, the grey import market may well be our solution too.