CDS Defence and Security announced as a partner in Spearhead
CDS Defence and Security announced as a partner in Spearhead, the new UK sovereign SME collective.
CDS Defence and Security has today been announced as a partner in Spearhead, a new collective of vetted UK sovereign SMEs organised as one accountable delivery partner for defence and security.
Spearhead gives buyers the depth and value of going direct to specialist SMEs, with none of the management burden. Buyers hold one contract with one accountable team, while Spearhead carries the coordination, interfaces, assurance and risk. Work is allocated on merit, pricing is transparent and every member is UK owned and UK cleared.
Membership is by invitation, based on a proven record of delivering.
Richard Bradley, Managing Director at CDS Defence & Security, said: “Spearhead has been built through months of collaboration between specialist UK SMEs that share the same ambition: to make sovereign capability easier for customers to access and buy. CDS DS has been closely involved from the outset, helping bring the right organisations together and shape the collective into a credible delivery partner. Together, we can offer customers greater breadth, stronger specialist depth and one accountable route to delivery.”
“For too long, the best specialist capability in this country has been kept out of procurement competitions built for scale. Spearhead exists to change that. We have brought together SMEs who roll their sleeves up and deliver, every one of us is a leader in our own fields, and together we are broad enough to take on the largest programmes without ever losing that depth. And we have organised ourselves so Government can reach all of it through one accountable force." said Oz Lane, Spearhead spokesperson.
The launch comes as the UK Government commits to increasing direct SME spend in defence to £7.5 billion by 2028. Spearhead works as a direct route for Government, and as a ready-made delivery capability for primes assembling a bid.
Spearhead will be at DVD 2026 in September on the CDS Defence & Security stand. We will be there as part of the Spearhead team.