Abbreviation ADS | Formation 11 September 2009 Legal status Private company | |
Motto Advancing UK AeroSpace, Defence and Security Industries Globally Purpose Promoting the aerospace, defence and security industries of the United Kingdom | ||
ADS Group Limited, informally known as Aerospace Defence Security or ADS, is the trade organisation representing the aerospace, defence, and security industries in the United Kingdom.
Contents
History
It was formed from the merger of the Association of Police and Public Security Suppliers (APPSS), the Defence Manufacturers Association (DMA) and the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC).
ADS Group Limited was incorporated on 11 September 2009 as a private, limited by guarantee, no share capital company registered in the United Kingdom with company number 01765250.
Activities
Farnborough International Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of ADS. ADS also encompasses the British Aviation Group (BAG).
The head office is situated on the Albert Embankment (A3036), on the opposite side of the Thames to Millbank Tower, and next to the headquarters of the London Fire Brigade and the UN's International Maritime Organization, south of Lambeth Bridge.
Regional offices
It also has offices at
SITC
The Security Innovation and Technology Consortium (SITC) is a Special Interest Group in ADS intended to provide a cost effective means for SMEs to join a broad and diverse business community.
Membership
Companies include:
Annual Dinner Controversy
The ADS Group has drawn criticism for its annual dinners where ADS's member companies pay around £450 a head to host influential politicians, civil servants, military figures and journalists.
In 2015, the dinner was disrupted by a pregnant woman who said: "I'm here tonight because my child is going to be born in four months time. He's going to be born into a world where, in this country, one million people have needed to use a foodbank in the last year while at the same time arms dealers can enjoy £246-a-head dinners. That is more money than someone on Jobseeker's Allowance gets in a whole month. We know that tonight we're joined by MPs, we're joined by civil servants and we know that the purpose of this evening is to keep military spending at that high level."
In 2016, the dinner was held on the same day that Parliament's International Development Committee said that the UK should suspend all arms sales to Saudi Arabia. According to the Independent, ADS member BAE Systems builds the Eurofighter and Tornado planes which are being used in Saudi Arabia's bombing campaign in Yemen. Another member, Raytheon, makes the Paveway guided bombs which are being used in the military operation. Andrew Smith, a spokesperson for Campaign Against Arms Trade, criticised the dinner, saying: "“The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is getting worse. 14 million Yemeni people are facing food insecurity and 1.4 million children are acutely malnourished. At the same time, arms dealers that are profiting from the devastation will be swilling champagne and sitting down to dinner with many of the politicians that support them. The fact that over 40 MPs attended as guests of arms companies and arms trade lobby groups last year is a disgrace and shows the extent of the arms trade's connections and political lobbying.”
In 2017, the event moved the Grosvenor House Marriot hotel. Protestors held up banners saying "Arms Dealers Dine as Yemen Starves", "Stop Arming Saudi" and "Arms Dealers Here Today, This is Not OK". Speeches were made by William Hague and an Airbus representative.