It was an honour to welcome Minister for the armed forces Al Carns to Swindon yesterday for the opening of the STARK manufacturing facility alongside, the UK’s ambassador to Germany Andrew Mitchell, the German ambassador to the UK Susanne Baumann, the Chief of the General Staff Sir Roy Walker, and Cllr Jim Robbins. It’s incredibly exciting to see the Drone Hub going from a concept into something real. STARK will be producing unmanned systems from the beginning of next year to bolster British Defence, our allies in NATO and support our Ukrainian allies in their defence of Europe.
I’m so proud to be working alongside excellent people like Al and Mike Armstrong, the company’s managing director, to deliver high-skilled jobs for the people of Swindon.
At the opening, someone who’d had to look outside of the town for work when Honda closed spoke to me about how excited they were that they’d secured a great job in Swindon and not have to drive an hour to get to work. That meant more time with their family and a better work life balance. It’s people like him, with skills that have been untapped since the closing of Honda and the new workers who are experiencing a new career in British Defence that highlight how this investment by STARK and the creation of the drone hub is going to rebuild our town