Andy Start has announced his retirement from the Ministry of Defence having established the National Armaments Director Group.
Start was tasked with establishing the NAD Group in March 2025 as interim national armaments director, drawing on his experience leading Defence Equipment and Support since 2022.
The group unites the MoD organisations responsible for the UK’s national arsenal and defence estate, including DE&S and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.
After creating the group, Start became its deputy director following the appointment of Rupert Pearce as NAD in October 2025, taking a support role in continuing the transition to the new operating model. He also left his role as DE&S chief exec in the same month.
With the group now fully established, Start has departed to pursue a PhD in defence studies at King’s College London. The deputy NAD role has been scrapped following his departure.
Defence secretary John Healey said: “Andy has dedicated 37 years to UK defence – within the department and in industry. I want to offer my personal thanks for his tireless efforts over the last two years in helping to imagine, design and establish a new, powerful National Armaments area. Under his leadership, our enabling teams have come together in a way not seen for a generation.”
Pearce added: “Thanks to Andy, I inherited a group that was already on the pathway to a single mission for defence. Andy’s leadership in setting the NAD Group up for success cannot be overstated. And on top of this, through his leadership of DE&S, he has managed some of the most complex projects across governments. I am incredibly grateful for his efforts.”
The NAD Group was created as part of defence reforms seeking to speed up decision-making, tackle waste, and improve outcomes for the armed forces.
It brings together the following organisations:
- Dstl
- Defence Support
- DE&S
- Defence Infrastructure Organisation
- Defence Digital
- International Collaboration & Exports, including UK Defence and Security Exports
- Commercial & Industry, including National Shipbuilding Office
- Options and Commissioning, including Defence and Security Accelerator, part of UK Defence Innovation
- Corporate and Shared Services, including UK Hydrographic Office, The Oil and Pipelines Agency and Single Source Regulations Office
Reflecting on his time at the MoD for DE&S’s Desider magazine last month, Start said it has been “a real privilege to lead the work of forming the NAD Group… creating an organisation with unparalleled potential”.
He also said he felt he had achieved “far more than I expected, and less than I would have wished”.