McLaughlin & Harvey has won a contract worth more than £100m to build a new combat air facility for Rolls-Royce in Bristol.

The facility will provide space for research, manufacturing and assembly, creating capability for new product development for the future of air combat.

Construction is scheduled to begin later in 2026.

“We are very pleased to be announcing the contract award to McLaughlin & Harvey. This complex facility is a physical manifestation of our commitment to novel technology and agile ways of working.

By embedding our previous learnings, we are creating a space for state-of-the-art technology development, to ensure we meet our ambitious customer commitments while future-proofing our capabilities for decades to come.”

Paul Pennington, Senior Vice President of Infrastructure, Defence
Rolls-Royce 

Built as a connected and digital-first facility, it will accelerate the pace and drive efficiencies across research, test and manufacturing while allowing high-tech and innovative technology development.

“We have a longstanding partnership with Rolls-Royce and have completed two advanced manufacturing projects for them.

Our Midlands and South West team will draw on this past experience and broader expertise in complex manufacturing environments to support the client in building a state-of-the-art manufacturing and assembly facility in Bristol.”

Dougie McCusker, Construction Director
McLaughlin & Harvey 

When operational, the facility will future-proof the capability in Bristol for the required developments for combat air of the future. The development is underpinned by ongoing enabling work to improve safety, security, and resilience across the site.

McLaughlin & Harvey delivers critical infrastructure across the defence sector for the Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems, and aerospace partners, including a £210m advanced machining facility in Sheffield.