SKILLS, STRATEGY AND SHARED SUCCESS IS POWERING LANCASHIRE’S FUTURE
£8bn TYPHOON ORDER IS A TURKISH DELIGHT
The UK and Turkey have signed a deal worth up to £8bn for 20 UK Typhoon fighter jets in a major boost for Lancashire’s defence and aerospace sector.
Under the agreement, BAE Systems will manufacture major airframe components, conduct the final assembly of the aircraft and lead the weapons integration at its Warton and Samlesbury sites.
The Turkish agreement is a major boost for the British order book, representing the biggest fighter jet deal in almost 20 years and saving the Warton production line.
It will also generate work for hundreds of companies across the UK supply chain. The weapons package will be primarily provided by MBDA, which is also based in the North West.
Almost 6,000 jobs directly support the Typhoon programme at BAE Systems in Warton and Samlesbury, where production and final assembly of each fighter jet takes place.
BAE Systems chief executive Charles Woodburn said: “Typhoon is an export success story and demonstrates how investment in defence can fuel significant economic growth and returns across the UK.
“The announcement extends Typhoon production and preserves crucial sovereign skills which underpin the UK’s defence and security.”
Typhoon is widely regarded as one of the UK’s most successful defence export programmes contributing £1.4bn in exports annually. The programme generates £1.6bn to the UK economy each year.
More than 20,000 jobs across the UK are supported by the Typhoon programme, including highly skilled sovereign engineering roles.
The deal means that Typhoon production in the UK will now extend into the 2030s. Continuing Typhoon assembly in Lancashire is seen as vital in bridging the gap until the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) fully ramps up and in securing the skills needed to deliver it.
The UK is a partner with Italy and Japan in GCAP, working to develop the sixth-generation fighter and accompanying systems, with much of the early work taking place at BAE Systems’ Lancashire facilities.
The Unite union, which represents thousands of BAE Systems workers has welcomed the deal with Turkey. It says the order is critical to maintain vital skills, particularly in final assembly. However, the union says it is imperative that the RAF also places an order for new Typhoons.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our own government needs to follow suit and buy new state-of-the-art British Typhoons to replace the RAF’s aging fast-jets. The Prime Minister promised to use the defence budget to get workers in Britain building, so what are we waiting for?”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited BAE Systems’ Warton plant after flying back from Turkey, where he signed the deal. He told workers there that they had “beaten the world” by enabling the UK to secure the Typhoon orders.
The Prime Minister said: “You have to be world class in this game – you know that – and yesterday we signed that deal, because you’re world class; because you gave me the opportunity to make the case for the United Kingdom… against other countries and win this deal.”
Neil Burrows,
Director of skills, innovation and employer engagement
Economic growth, skills development, innovation. These are the things that go hand-in-hand to create a vibrant and powerful business community.
Lancashire’s newly launched Growth Plan 2025–2035 is a bold statement of intent which requires us to work together to create all three. The Growth Plan sets out a vision that is both ambitious and collaborative; with emphasis on place-based regeneration, innovation-led growth and inclusive prosperity, mirroring our own strategic priorities.
At this year’s Burnley Business Week, I saw first-hand that Lancashire is not only ready to rise to this challenge – we are already doing it. The plan highlights five transformational sectors: national security and resilience, clean growth and nuclear renaissance, digital and AI, advanced engineering and manufacturing, and culture and tourism.
Our students are excelling in digital technology. They helped the college secure the National Cyber School of the Year Award and they’ve worked alongside GCHQ. We have nuclear engineering apprentices and our learners have travelled the globe demonstrating their engineering and construction skills at the WorldSkills finals.
These are not distant ambitions, they are immediate opportunities already being grabbed by our learners as we embed these themes into our curriculum through new apprenticeships, T Levels, technical qualifications and more.
As an education leader, I see this as a pivotal moment for colleges and businesses across the county to align with this vision and play a central role in delivering it, by creating clear pathways into high-value careers while supporting regional economic priorities.
For example, our partnerships with local employers in engineering and digital sectors are helping us co-design learning pathways that lead directly into high-value jobs – creating career pipelines to support individual aspirations and regional economic needs.
Colleges are uniquely placed to act as connectors, bringing together employers, learners and communities. Through initiatives such as the Lancashire Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), we are making sure education remains closely tied to the needs of the local economy.
The Lancashire Growth Plan is rightly ambitious. At Burnley College, we are fully aligned with its vision and committed to defining Lancashire’s next chapter.
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