The picture is strong, and growing. MOD expenditure with industry supported 272,000 direct jobs in 2023/24, an increase of 11% on the previous financial year MOD supported employment estimates for 2023/24. That builds on the 239,000 MOD-supported UK jobs recorded in 2022/23, itself a 6% rise the MOD estimates for 2022/23. The momentum is not slowing. More than 1,700 new jobs are being created across the UK defence sector following at least £1.4 billion in foreign direct investment committed since July 2024 GOV.UK's defence dividend announcement.
Recruitment has been climbing too. Surveyed defence recruitment grew by 17.8% in 2022, with the sector described as an attractive employer a GOV.UK report on the sector's economic contribution. For employers watching counter-drone demand rise, that means competing for talent in a market that is already busy and expanding fast.
Counter-drone work sits where physical security meets software and signals. A single brief now often asks for sensor and radar knowledge, radio-frequency detection, threat analysis, and the software skills to run detection platforms. That blend pulls security hiring closer to the cyber workforce, which numbers roughly 143,000 individuals in the UK, with growth accelerating from 2% in 2022 to 5% in 2024 the GOV.UK cyber security skills report for 2025.
The practical effect is that one person rarely covers the whole brief. You are increasingly hiring a small team: someone who understands airspace and physical risk, someone who can read sensor data, and someone who can keep detection software and integrations running. Clarity on which of those you actually need, today, is the first step to a good hire.
Start by splitting the must-haves from the nice-to-haves. Core security judgement and the right clearances are hard to teach quickly; a specific sensor platform often is not. Writing the brief around transferable skills, data literacy, threat analysis, systems thinking, widens your pool without lowering the bar.
Speed and rigour can coexist. The goal is a shortlist you trust, reviewed fast, so vetting and interviews start while the best people are still available.
We built Reed.ai to make that first stretch faster and sharper. We search a database of 15 million candidates, rank a shortlist, and handle recruitment end to end, so you can focus your time on the people who genuinely fit a specialist brief. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. If counter-drone demand is reshaping your briefs, start your search with us today.
