Defense Privatization in the UK

The English government over the last several years has been selling off certain Defense assets. These are what in the US would be considered core capabilities; although they are often augmented by contractors due to demand for their products and services. QinetiQ is a company that was formed by the Ministry of Defense splitting off their test and research organizations. One of their core businesses is running the British research facilities. They also have been heavily involved in unmanned vehicle research and production. The Times of London is reporting that the company is going to sell off some of its assets to focus on core business as they restructure the company.

QiniteQ, like a great deal of foreign defense companies, has expanded in the US by buying some small American companies with complimentary business lines. They also have been able to team with US companies on larger programs. The idea of privatizing this kind of effort is that the government cuts costs by no longer employing the workforce as civil servants or operating the physical plant. The contracts they sign to conduct the work will be cheaper in the long run; not necessarily employing the former state operations now a private company.