British Motor Museum wins bid to host Make UK Defence Summit 2026

UK’s Leading Defence SME and Supply‑Chain Summit Heads to the British Motor Museum this November as Make UK Defence Expands its Flagship Event

The British Motor Museum has been selected as the host for the UK’s leading event for UK defence SMEs and supply chain companies, the Make UK Defence Summit, on 18-19 November 2026.

Make UK Defence is a national not-for-profit, member owned defence trade association representing around 900 UK defence manufacturers across the UK. Set to welcome around 550 delegates alongside an expanded exhibitor line-up, the two-day Summit will bring defence manufacturers, policy makers, financial firms and supply chain partners together for keynote content, panel sessions and a dedicated exhibition zone. 

Last year’s Annual Summit saw keynote speeches from the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP, tech giant Amazon Web Services, and major defence innovators QinetiQ. 

The Summit will also host the UK’s largest defence focussed ‘Meet the Buyer’ event, which saw over 800 meetings between buyers and suppliers brokered last year, and an annual charity dinner, which last year raised £10,000 for the RAF Benevolent Fund. 

This latest booking reflects a growing appetite for sector-led forums and face-to-face connection across UK defence as well as the growth within the sector, with Make UK Defence’s Annual Summit nearly tripling in size since it first began four years ago.  

Located in Warwickshire, minutes from Junction 12 of the M40, the British Motor Museum is a leading venue for conferences and events, with flexible spaces accommodating from 6 to 600 delegates. The venue’s facilities include a large, self-contained Conference and Exhibition Suite with its own dedicated entrance and private reception, plus additional conference rooms and breakout spaces that work well for multi-stream programmes, supplier showcases and buyer meetings. 

British Motor Museum’s head of commerce Toby Batchelor said:  “Winning the Make UK Defence Summit is a real vote of confidence in what we offer as a conference venue.  Organisers in specialist sectors want a setting that feels professional, secure and logistically straightforward, while still giving delegates something memorable. With flexible spaces, a dedicated events team and an environment that sparks conversations around innovation and technology from the moment guests arrive, we are delighted to be welcoming Make UK Defence in 2026.”

Make UK Defence’s director-general Andrew Kinniburgh said:  “As the UK’s leading champion of the defence supply chain and SME community, our Annual Summit has become one of the highlights of the year for UK defence manufacturers looking to grow their business in the defence market, with our sector-leading Meet the Buyer event now the largest defence focussed event of its type in the country.  As we rapidly grow, we’ve been delighted to select the British Motor Museum for our next Annual Summit because it represents how our sector is transforming the UK manufacturing landscape – bringing together expertise from across specialist sectors such as motorsport to strengthen UK defence. We look forward to welcoming hundreds of delegates from across our sector to the British Motor Museum this November.”