Demotix/ Mark Kerrison. All rights reserved.It is no coincidence that Defence Secretary Michael Fallon MP chose one of the world's biggest arms fairs, DSEI 2015, to announce that the UK government is going to step up its role in the arms trade. The event, which took place last month in London, brought the world's biggest arms companies together with government ministers and military buyers from around the world.
The minister used the occasion to emphasise his support for the industry, saying “boosting our exports successes in what is an increasingly competitive market place has to now be the priority.” After stressing his support he went a step further, calling for the armed forces to “take the lead” in supporting the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) renewed efforts to promote Eurofighter jets and missiles.
One of the motives for the shift is likely to be the recent decisions of Egypt, UAE and Qatar to buy fighter jets from France ahead of the UK. Following the Qatari decision, an article in the Daily Telegraph stated “a senior Government source said that ministers were “looking seriously at the three Rafale wins” and how the Paris authorities' involvement could have helped swing the deals.” Fallon's speech is almost certainly an outcome of that process.
