Inside Pearson Engineering’s £8 million investment in future-ready manufacturing (Studio)

Brought to you in partnership with Pearson Engineering

The Armstrong Works site in Newcastle in the North of England has been in use since 1847, with more than 300 skilled engineering and manufacturing personnel employed there today. It has been home to Pearson Engineering since 2015, producing capabilities across the defence space and for sectors including rail, energy and nuclear.

In the military domain, Pearson Engineering works across a range of essential combat capabilities, notably in mine clearance, armoured vehicle manufacturing, assault gap crossing and other key engineering priorities. It has long worked closely with the British Army, but also oversees a large export business, with customers among armed forces in over 75 countries; these exports represent around 80% of the equipment it sells today.

Pearson Engineering deploys a range of advanced manufacturing capabilities at Armstrong Works, from cutting sheet metal through to machining, fabrication and final assembly, producing armoured fabrications, and serving specialist naval projects, alongside structures for customers in Rail, Nuclear, and Energy sectors.

Armstrong Works is one of the only factories in the UK offering true end-to-end, build-to-print capabilities. It combines advanced manufacturing technologies with expert design-for-manufacture insight. The state-of-the-art site serves as a one-stop shop with everything under one roof, meaning customers benefit from seamless service delivery, faster turnaround, enhanced security, and total accountability from a single trusted provider.

Advanced manufacturing

“Today we have under one roof critical infrastructure and some unique technologies and capabilities that contribute to all the major UK armoured vehicle programs, whether it be the AJAX fleet of vehicles, the BOXER armoured vehicle, or indeed, the Challenger 3 new main battle tank,” said Ian Bell, Group Chief Executive Officer of Pearson Engineering.

However, the battlespace and military technologies are rapidly evolving, placing new demands on manufacturing. The company is adapting to these requirements, with more than £8 million invested in the site in the past two years alone, modernising equipment, processes and facilities to remain at the cutting edge.

These investments will enhance the company’s work in such projects as Challenger 3, as well as empowering its efforts to support future military needs. For example, new innovations include the development of remote-controlled breaching systems, such as WEEVIL, a specially adapted mine plough attached to a Warrior infantry fighting vehicle (IFV).

Similarly, the BEACON remote control system enables armed forces to turn their fighting vehicles into optionally crewed robotic assets.

Autonomous innovation

Pearson Engineering is also increasing its focus on the crucial, evolving area of autonomous innovation, including developing Threat-Sense, an AI-powered capability that allows uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other military vehicles to detect and identify surface land mines.

To support these efforts, Pearson Engineering has upgraded its R&D laboratories for AI testing and robotics integration, said Mike Key, the company’s COO. Other efforts include the development of simulation environments to train both systems and operators, alongside enhanced recruitment of software engineers to help advance and embed new technology.

“Importantly, I think we’ll see the removal of humans from the battlefield and far more dependency on remote vehicles and technology, something which we are driving through our R&D programmes,” Key said.

To support this transformation, Pearson Engineering is looking to the next generation of engineers and other specialists. These experts are being hired across a range of disciplines, including a significant number of specialists in such fields as robotics and software.

The company has developed early talent programmes focused on these areas, as well as in-house training academies that blend engineering and data science. It has a “very, very comprehensive approach to apprenticeships”, said Bell.

For instance, its Welding Academy was created recognising a national skills shortage in fabrication and welding. Pearson Engineering built its own in-house welding and fabrication capability — from developing first principles to upskilling its workforce and supporting advanced qualifications. This approach ensures the company has the skills in-house to meet the complex, high-precision requirements of its customers, while strengthening the talent pipeline to support the business now and into the future.

The innovations developed by these skilled employees will have clear operational benefits. Perhaps most importantly, advances in areas like AI and robotics enable militaries to remove personnel from danger: such technologies as Threat-Sense, BEACON and WEEVIL mean soldiers can detect and dispose of mines and explosive ordnance from several miles away.

There is a significant humanitarian benefit to such innovation, which Bell terms ‘the next industrial revolution’. For instance, Pearson Engineering equipment has been deployed with the Ukrainian Armed Forces to detect and defeat IEDs and mines, a crucial capability in the most-mined country in the world.

Such efforts raise the prospect of providing governments with the ability to pursue autonomous mine clearance on a large scale, helping to return land to the population while reducing the risk to both military personnel and civilians.

Building on a legacy

By continuously enhancing its Armstrong Works engineering centre, Pearson Engineering aims to build upon an existing legacy of engineering and manufacturing excellence in the North East of England, expanding the reach of its lifesaving technology by “harnessing AI to save lives on and off the battlefield and building a legacy that combines proven heritage with unmatched innovation”, said Bell.

“My vision for Pearson Engineering is to put the North East very firmly back on the map as a centre of excellence for heavy engineering – traditional engineering – but more importantly to make us a centre of excellence for AI and humanitarian efforts in mine clearance,” said Bell.

Pearson Engineering will be showcasing these innovations at DSEI 2025 — visit Stand N2-310 to learn more.