LONDON, September 15 — The UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for Semiconductors used a reception in Parliament on Tuesday to launch a new paper, ‘Defence and National Security: Delivering a Sovereign Semiconductor Capability’, arguing that secure access to trusted semiconductor technologies has become a national security priority. The shift is unmistakable. The paper points to growing geopolitical uncertainty and pressure on global supply chains as the forces pushing chips from an industrial policy question into a defence one.
It states plainly that the UK’s future defence and security capabilities will depend increasingly on access to trusted semiconductor technologies.
Where the UK says it is strong
The paper highlights the UK’s strengths in compound semiconductors, photonics and semiconductor design. It sets out recommendations to strengthen sovereign capability, improve supply-chain resilience, address skills shortages and better align defence, industrial and semiconductor policy. Recognising semiconductors as strategic national infrastructure — and investing in the sovereign capabilities that support them — will be critical to strengthening the UK’s security, resilience and long-term economic growth, according to the paper.
The launch reception featured speeches by Ruth Jones MP, Chair of the APPG, alongside Stephen Kinnock, Secretary of State for Wales, Luke Pollard, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, and Kanishka Narayan, Minister for Artificial Intelligence. Drew Nelson, founder of compound semiconductor firm IQE and chair of the APPG’s Advisory Board, and Antony Calvert, managing director of CalComms, which provides secretariat services to the APPG, also addressed attendees.
The event showcased the breadth of expertise supporting the APPG’s work. Representatives from NetZero Semiconductors, CSconnected, Vishay Intertechnology, KLA, Oxford Instruments, Octric Semiconductors, Microwave Inspection Technologies, University of Cambridge, National Epitaxy Facility, Swansea University, MBDA and Leonardo were all in attendance, with many contributing towards the development of the paper. Throughout the reception, speakers highlighted the importance of the UK’s semiconductor sector as a critical enabler of future economic growth, technological leadership, defence capability and national resilience.
Ministers underlined the increasingly important role that semiconductor technologies play in supporting the UK’s defence and security priorities, particularly as geopolitical competition intensifies and global supply chains face growing pressure.
The advisory bench
The APPG’s Advisory Board includes Drew Nelson of NetZero Semiconductors, Wyn Meredith of CSconnected, Andrew Evans of KLA, Sam Evans of Vishay Intertechnology, Jon Heffernan of the National Epitaxy Facility, Chet Babla of Octric Semiconductors, Rachel Oliver of the University of Cambridge, Paul Meredith of the University of Swansea, Alex Stewart of the Bessemer Society, Robin Sloan of Microwave Inspection Technologies, Steven Baker of Oxford Instruments, Robert Bowman of Queen’s University, Richard Price of Pragmatic Semiconductors, and Claire Valoti of Plessey Semiconductors.
The reception marked an important moment for continued engagement between Parliament and the semiconductor sector as the UK seeks to translate strategic ambition into practical delivery. Watch this space — the trend underneath is that sovereign chip capability is being written into defence thinking, and the next test is whether the recommendations turn into delivery.
