Sectors / 01
Defence & aerospace
We help defence and dual-use businesses enter new markets, export with confidence and pass a prime’s or buyer’s scrutiny.
What is changing, and what it means for you.
What is changing
- European and NATO budgets are rising, and buyers are opening frameworks to new suppliers.
- Export-control, end-use and ownership checks are being pushed down to every tier of the chain.
- UK buyers can now exclude a supplier because of its subcontractors.
Who it affects
Manufacturers entering Western markets, exporters of controlled and dual-use items, suppliers inside a prime’s chain, and the primes, integrators and investors who rely on them.
The problem it creates
Opportunity is growing faster than the evidence behind it. A new entrant does not know who buys or what it must prove. An exporter carries licensing and end-use risk it has not fully mapped. An established supplier is asked for classification, ownership and origin evidence at short notice.
What Meridian does
We map demand and the route to it, set out the export-control and end-use position, check partners and counterparties, and build the evidence a buyer, prime or authority expects, before anyone relies on it.
Different businesses, different first steps.
Each starts with a defined scope and a fixed fee, set out in writing within 24 hours.
If you are
Entering UK, NATO or EU markets
You have capability but no clear map of who buys it or what they will require.
You receive: The buyers, frameworks and primes relevant to what you make, the route to each, and the gaps to close first.
If you are
Exporting controlled or dual-use items
Classification, licensing and end-user checks have grown faster than your process.
You receive: Your control position set out item by item, with end-use and destination risk graded and the next steps clear.
If you are
Supplying a prime or government buyer
Your customer wants classification, ownership and origin evidence on file.
You receive: One evidence file built to your customer’s requirements, with each claim sourced and graded.
If you are
Choosing a partner, agent or supplier
A partner, agent, acquisition target or supplier needs checking before you commit.
You receive: Ownership, standing and links verified, delivered as a defined, fixed-scope brief your team can act on.
Not sure which fits? Describe the situation
Three questions, answered with evidence.
010203What we read.
- AirframeITAR, USML Category VIII: who may build, hold and export it.
- Avionics and sensorsEAR and UK dual-use lists: classification, licence and end use.
- EngineITAR, USML Category XIX: origin of the hot section and its parts.
Standards & regulation.
The frameworks we work to in this sector.
US defence articles, services and technical data.
US dual-use items and end-use controls.
US country and list-based sanctions.
UK Military List and trade controls.
Statutory basis for UK export controls.
Standing UK licensing guidance.
EU dual-use export regime.
Licence-free trade between AUKUS partners.
Safeguarding covered defence information.
Controlled unclassified information.
Defence supplier cyber maturity.
Defence security and network manuals.
Cyber requirements for defence suppliers.
Audited baseline for MoD supply.
Supplier quality assurance.
Supplier code for NATO procurement.
US anti-bribery and books-and-records.
Where we look.
The official procurement and trade sources we draw on.
Federal opportunity data, daily.
Item-level defence supply RFQs.
MOD advertised requirements.
UK above-threshold notices.
Support, logistics and equipment.
ICT and C4ISR procurement.
Armament programmes.
EU public procurement.
Defence innovation competitions.
Defence R&D for small business.
Service innovation challenges.
Defence supply chain directory.
BAE Systems · Babcock · Leonardo · Thales · RTX · Lockheed Martin · Northrop Grumman · General Dynamics
Related thinking.
Recent notes that bear on this sector.
China’s rare earth pause has two more months. Plan as if it ends.
China’s suspension of its October 2025 rare earth controls was due to end on 10 November. The US–China truce behind it now runs to 10 January 2027. The April 2025 licensing on seven medium and heavy rare earths never stopped. Magnet-dependent supply chains should plan for both.
Failure to prevent fraud, one year on. What “reasonable procedures” means for your third parties
Since 1 September 2025, large organisations are liable for fraud committed by employees, agents and subsidiaries for their benefit. The main defence is reasonable procedures, and third parties are where most organisations are thinnest.
The UK debarment list is still empty. Your subcontractors still count.
More than a year and a half into the Procurement Act 2023, no supplier has been placed on the central debarment list. But contracting authorities must check every intended subcontractor against it, and an excluded subcontractor can exclude the prime.