New Wave Media

 

Fallon visited SeeByte, a software SME and Finmeccanica Airborne and Space Systems Division, Edinburgh, a defense electronics, communications and radar company.

 

SeeByte provides the MOD with software that pilots its underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs). The firm, which employs 61 people, was awarded a £1.1 million contract in December 2014 by the MOD, and has since integrated its software onto three Iver3 underwater unmanned vehicles, which are undergoing trials. SeeByte received funding in 2012 through MOD’s Centre for Defense Enterprise (CDE), which aims to remove barriers for innovative small companies to enter the defense supply chain.

 

Finmeccanica Airborne and Space Systems Division is currently working with the MOD on current and future radar programs for the Typhoon fighter aircraft. This includes a contract to develop the latest type of radar system – known as E-scan – which is sustaining around 500 jobs at the site in Edinburgh.

 

Fallon said, “Britain’s defense relies on Scottish brainpower. We’re backing that brainpower by increasing the defense budget every year of this decade, meeting the NATO 2 per cent spending commitment and investing £800 million in innovation.”

 

“Together with our pilots at Lossiemouth, our submariners at Faslane and the Army regiments, that puts Scotland right at the heart of the nation’s defenses,” Fallon added.

 

The visit follows the launch by the government of an £800 million innovation fund, to harness the entrepreneurship and ingenuity of the private sector so the U.K. can maintain an operational edge over adversaries.

 

SeeByte CEO, Dr. Bob Black, said, “At SeeByte we were delighted to be given the opportunity to host the Secretary of State for Defense, Michael Fallon and to be recognized as the U.K.’s leading player in the field of maritime autonomous systems.”

 

“We are very proud of the work we have conducted with the U.K. MOD, and we look forward to continue this working relationship to enhance the future autonomy of unmanned maritime robotic platforms,” Dr. Black said.

 

Managing Director of Finmeccanica Airborne and Space Systems Division, Edinburgh, Norman Bone, added, “I am delighted to welcome the Secretary of State to our Edinburgh site. We are proud of our support to the U.K.’s Armed Forces, and of the innovative way we develop advanced technology to make sure it’s available where and when our customers need it. Our systems are an essential part of the future on all types of operations.”

 

“In Finmeccanica, our commitment to investment in the U.K.’s defense and security sector is seen in our research, in developing our people, and in the partnerships we build with companies across the U.K. and in export,” Bone said.