A startup founded by a Caius fellow has been given a contract to supply interceptor missiles to the UK Armed Forces and its Gulf partners.

Cambridge Aerospace was established in 2024 by Cambridge professor Steven Barrett, alongside Chris Sylvan, who previously worked at the defence technology company Anduril. Barrett also serves as Regius Professor of Engineering.

The government contract was announced at the London Defence Conference earlier in April, as part of a planned rise in defence operations.

The UK government said the investment formed part of the “largest sustained increase” in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.

Barrett’s company is set to deliver the first missiles, known as Skyhammer, along with associated launchers, in May. Skyhammer is the firm’s first missile, and can travel a maximum of 30km at up to 700km/h.

Since its founding, Cambridge Aerospace has raised £75 million in funding. The company sparked controversy in 2025 when former defence secretary Grant Shapps was appointed as its chairman, less than two years after leaving his cabinet post.

The company is based in London, but has a “substantial base” in the Cambridge area. This latest deal is expected to create 50 new jobs, on top of the 125 currently employed by Cambridge Aerospace.

Barrett completed his undergraduate degree and PhD at Pembroke. He later went on to lecture at Cambridge’s Department of Engineering from 2008-2010.

After a period at MIT, Barrett was appointed to his current role at Cambridge in 2024 as an expert in the environmental impacts of aviation. His research focuses on the elimination of aeroplane contrails, produced by an aircraft’s exhaust, with the aim of reducing global warming.

At the time, the University’s vice-chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, commented: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Steven back to Cambridge to take up one of the University’s most prestigious roles.

“His work on sustainable aviation will build on Cambridge’s existing strengths, and will help us develop the solutions we need to address the threat posed by climate change.”

Barrett said of the latest deal: “With aerial threats continuing to evolve, it is critical that defence capabilities can scale rapidly and cost-effectively. Skyhammer was designed to meet that need.

“We welcome the government’s commitment to supporting UK air defence with scalable, sovereign solutions,” he added.

This contract comes amid continuing disagreement within the University over whether it should divest from companies involved in weapons production. A vote by its policy-making body, the University Council, has been repeatedly delayed.

Last year, in an SU referendum, over 3000 students voted in favour of the SU actively campaigning for the University to divest, with 615 votes against.