The Hydra 400 is a hybrid heavy-lift uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV), developed over the past five years by a small team of experts based in the UK. The platform was showcased on the Army stand at DSEI 2023, where it was fitted with a replica MBDA missile system to demonstrate potential payload compatibility. But to move forward, Hydra needed more than interest – it needed recognition, funding, and backing from the wider defence community.  

That support came when MBDA recognised the value of Hydra as a platform and invested directly in the company; the first time MBDA had taken a shareholder position in a UK SME. It was a major step forward but also came with limitations. The challenge was to encourage reticent stakeholders to engage and build a story that celebrated progress, championed UK-made technology, and encouraged deeper MOD engagement, all without crossing regulatory or messaging lines.  

Our deep expertise in defence and security communications made Canny the right partner for the challenge, combining a sharp understanding of MOD stakeholder priorities with the ability to craft compelling narratives for highly specialised audiences. We also brought in-depth knowledge of security and commercial messaging constraints, critical in a project where disclosure and positioning need to be tightly managed.  

A simple, clear message was built around three core themes: UK innovation, smart partnerships, and long-term impact. The focus was on why Hydra’s development matters for the company, UK supply chains, and the future of sovereign defence capability. Rather than referencing specific systems or integrations, the campaign highlighted Hydra’s advanced engineering, the strength of its team, and the strategic importance of continued backing from major industry partners.  

Having identified MBDA and specific Army stakeholders as the main target audience, we selected channels that were most likely to resonate with these audiences and drew up a content plan that would appeal to them directly. Quotes from Hydra’s CEO, Dr Stephen Prior, were used to explain why the investment has implications not just on a tactical level, but strategically, to the defence community.  

Our established relationships and credibility within the defence sector enabled us to secure a powerful endorsement quote from MBDA’s director of UK sales and business development, lending crucial third-party validation to the partnership announcement.  

The campaign significantly lifted Hydra’s visibility and credibility across defence and national audiences. LinkedIn performance for the company soared, with an increase in new followers and 8,500+ impressions in one week. Within 30 days, Hydra gained around 3,870 new followers and built a highly engaged defence audience.  

Media outreach generated attention from key outlets including an initial exclusive in The Telegraph, with further coverage in ADS, Shephard, and EDR, while stakeholder engagement extended to Army stakeholders and MBDA leadership.  

The campaign strengthened Hydra’s standing as a serious player in UK defence innovation, setting the stage for future investment, DSEI visibility, and deeper MOD engagement. It also directly supported significant business development activity, including follow-on engagement and contract discussions with leading defence primes. 

It proved the power of SME–prime collaboration in delivering sovereign capability at pace.  

HYDRA X MBDA

Fering approached Canny Comms with a significant challenge: introduce their revolutionary all-terrain, fully electric/biofuel military vehicle—the Pioneer X—to the notoriously conservative defence sector. As an unknown vehicle brand with groundbreaking capabilities, including 80km of silent electric operation and a 7,000km hybrid range, Fering needed to quickly establish credibility and generate interest among military decision-makers.

The campaign needed to transform complex engineering concepts into compelling narratives that would resonate with defence procurement teams. With just three months to prepare for the International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) event in January 2025, we needed to develop a strategy that would cut through the noise at a crowded industry gathering.

Chief Operating Officer, Fering

Gren Paull

Our multidisciplinary team of communications experts, engineers and ex-military personnel developed an integrated campaign that highlighted the Pioneer X's revolutionary stealth capabilities. We created a strategic messaging framework focused on five key pillars: engineering excellence, capability, reliability, sustainable innovation, and precision British engineering.

We implemented a tiered media relations approach, crafting bespoke pitches for national, defence specialist, and technology publications. Rather than pursuing volume, we targeted 25 priority journalists across 15 key publications with tailored content.

The campaign combined exceptional off-road video footage with CGI showreels demonstrating the Pioneer X's stealth capabilities in realistic operational scenarios. We prepared Fering's spokespeople as "technical translators" who could explain complex engineering in accessible terms, while our exhibition stand showcased the vehicle's innovations through live demonstrations.

The campaign dramatically exceeded all objectives. Coverage was secured in four major publications—The Telegraph, Daily Express, Jane's Defence, and European Defence Review—reaching a combined audience of over 8 million readers. 92% of coverage included at least three of our five key messages, with stealth capabilities mentioned in 100% of articles.

Digital engagement soared across platforms with our LinkedIn content achieving a remarkable 23.6% average engagement rate—nearly six times higher than the industry standard. One thought leadership piece generated 83,000 impressions, more than 40 times the normal engagement. On Instagram, we reached 11,184 profiles (exceeding the target by 11.8%), while our technical showreel videos received 18,691 views across platforms.

The campaign delivered exceptional business impact, generating enquiries from multiple military forces (including Dutch special forces and Singapore), interest in urgent orders from three countries (Malaysia, Poland, and Hungary), exclusive negotiations with a UK defence Prime company, and interest from major defence companies, including BAE Systems and BHE.

Launching Fering's Pioneer X

The British Army’s Project ZODIAC team were planning to take part in Project Convergence Capstone 4 (PCC4), an event held in the United States of America (USA) to experiment with and demonstrate international military technology collaboration. Roke is ZODIAC’s Prime Systems Integrator and was due to lead the industry team at PCC4 to demonstrate how ZODIAC could be used in collaboration with international allies to provide coordinated ISTAR. 

The Army and Roke wished to use the event to promote ZODIAC but required tailored communications and marketing materials.

We proposed a collection of targeted materials and activities to promote ZODIAC, including striking graphics, handout brochures, backdrop banners and slides for presentation by Army stakeholders. We also provided stakeholders with materials and approved wording to engage wider audiences. We engaged with the Army Communications Team and other stakeholders involved in ZODIAC to ensure messages were coordinated and amplified.

Throughout this project, we worked closely with Roke, who provided the strategic direction needed for us to deliver this work and oversaw the planning and delivery of our comms work as part of the wider project ZODIAC PCC4 activity. This collaboration ensured appropriate stakeholder input, buy-in and approvals, and that the comms aligned with and complemented the ZODIAC demonstrations at PCC4.

We received very positive feedback from Roke and the Army. The supplied materials and the advice we provided helped to raise the profile of Project ZODIAC both for attendees at PCC4 and for other project stakeholders.

“We were very happy with the work supplied by Canny Comms for Project ZODIAC. The brochure and graphic were a particular highlight – they really showcased the ZODIAC system and demonstrated what it can do.” Nik Beecher, Assistant Director Integrated Solutions, Roke

Project ZODIAC

The Land ISTAR programme aims to deliver an integrated and distributed system of sensors, applications and underlying architecture, enabling the Army to act with greater precision and speed. The programme required a partner with deep domain knowledge and experience with managing complex stakeholder networks, so Roke, the prime industry partner for this programme, contracted Canny to support with a communication strategy. 

We proposed a clear and coherent communications strategy to engage with key stakeholders.

We identified and interviewed stakeholders and developed case studies to understand their communication needs and interests. Roke was a strategic partner in the process, supporting us to craft a detailed strategy for effectively communicating the Land ISTAR programme and engaging stakeholders across the Army, MOD and industry. This included output recommendations ready for implementation.

Strategic communications for complex defence integration

The delivery of the strategy was met with positive feedback from Roke and the Land ISTAR team.

By tailoring the approach to the specific needs identified through stakeholder case studies, we provided a strategy that could streamline communication channels and reduce the complexity with the goal of enabling better comprehension of the benefits the Land ISTAR programme encompassed.

The delivered strategy will better enable the programme to meet its objectives and increase stakeholder confidence in the initiative's direction and impact.

The Canny team has been supporting in parallel a sub-project of the Land ISTAR programme called Project ZODIAC. This project, led by Roke, will provide the backbone of the capability delivered by the Army’s Land ISTAR Programme and will result in a faster, more integrated sense-decide-effect chain.

“The communications strategy and work carried out by Canny Comms was helpful in engaging Army, MOD and industry Land ISTAR programme stakeholders. This increased confidence in the programme by efficiently communicating its objectives.” Nik Beecher, Assistant Director Integrated Solutions, Roke

Land ISTAR Programme:

In the intricate world of defence programmes, successful communication demands more than traditional marketing expertise. It requires a rare combination: deep technical understanding, operational experience, and genuine cultural knowledge of military ways of working. This blend of capabilities enables us to rapidly grasp both technical and operational challenges, allowing us to focus on what matters most - engaging stakeholders effectively and bringing complex technologies to life. 

Modern defence programmes operate within complex stakeholder networks, from military end-users and MOD decision-makers to industry partners and international allies. Our experience has shown that effective engagement requires more than just understanding these different perspectives - it demands the ability to speak each stakeholder's language authentically. 

We've seen this in action through our work with major defence programmes, where our multidisciplinary approach has consistently accelerated stakeholder understanding and programme delivery. By combining technical experts with those who understand military culture and operations, alongside communications specialists, we create engagement that resonates across all stakeholder groups. 

Perhaps nowhere has this approach proved more valuable than in communicating invisible technologies. When working on Project ZODIAC, we faced a fundamental challenge: how do you demonstrate the value of something you cannot see? Our solution combined sophisticated 3D visualisation with deep technical understanding, allowing stakeholders to truly grasp the system's capabilities and potential impact. This approach led to a measured 30% increase in stakeholder understanding at international events like Project Convergence Capstone 4. 

Cultural understanding accelerates effectiveness 

Our team's immersion in military culture proves invaluable in accelerating programme communications. When working with Roke on the Land ISTAR programme, this cultural fluency enabled us to quickly grasp operational requirements and technical specifications, leading to faster decision-making among army and MOD stakeholders. By speaking the language of both technical teams and military operators, we bridge gaps that often slow down programme delivery. 

Every communication strategy we develop is built on clear, quantifiable objectives. This approach has delivered concrete results: 

Accelerated decision cycles through enhanced stakeholder understanding 

Improved cross-border engagement in multinational programmes 

Streamlined information flows between technical teams and end-users 

Increased stakeholder confidence through authentic communication 

Enhanced programme comprehension through visual demonstration of complex technologies 

International collaboration in practice 

Defence programmes increasingly operate across borders, making cultural and technical understanding even more critical. Our experience in creating materials for international demonstration events has shown how combining cultural insight with technical expertise can bridge both organisational and national boundaries. This proves particularly valuable in multinational contexts, where understanding of military cultures must span different nations' approaches and traditions. 

The impact of effective defence programme communications extends far beyond initial engagement. Through our work, we've seen how thoughtful communication strategies create lasting benefits: 

Technical teams better understand operational requirements 

Operators can clearly envisage how they'll use new capabilities 

Senior military stakeholders gain confidence in programme direction 

Investors appreciate potential impact and value 

Engineers remain engaged and aligned with programme goals 

As defence programmes become more integrated and international collaboration increases - exemplified by events like Project Convergence Capstone 5 - the role of strategic communications grows ever more critical. Success requires partners who can genuinely bridge technical, operational, and cultural domains while delivering measurable communication impact. 

Our approach has consistently shown that effective defence communication relies on more than just technical expertise or communications capability. It demands a genuine understanding of military culture, the ability to visualise complex technologies, and the skills to engage diverse stakeholders effectively. This combination enables programmes to achieve their full potential, ensuring every stakeholder not only understands the capability but can envisage its impact. 

Want to learn more about how we can support your programme? Contact us to discuss how our strategic approach could bring your complex capabilities to life. 

Bringing complex defence technologies to life

We are proud to announce the launch of Reputation Masterclass 2025.

This new conference, scheduled for 16 January 2025 at Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre, is the first aimed at communications and marketing professionals in the defence and security industry. The masterclass will tackle the most pressing reputation challenges in the defence communications field.

Navigating misinformation and geopolitics

Reputation, ethics, and social responsibility

Public affairs in a shifting political landscape

Digital security and rebranding strategies

Confirmed speakers include Jerome Starkey (Defence Editor, The Sun), Philip Ingram (regular Sky News security commentator), and Rachael Clamp (Chartered Institute of Public Relations President and CEO of Ardesey).

This non-commercial event will donate all proceeds to SSAFA and Heropreneurs, benefiting military charities that support those who have served in the armed forces.

Canny has designed this event to provide practical strategies, foster professional growth, and build stronger networks within the defence communications community.

Lindsay Compton, CEO of Canny said: "Reputation Masterclass 2025 is a culmination of our years of experience in the sector.

"We wanted to create a supportive event for marketing and comms pros to come together, share knowledge, and tackle the sector’s big reputational challenges head-on. It's about supporting the growth of individuals while using the proceeds to give back to those who have served in the armed forces. We're excited to see the impact this event will have and the conversations it will spark. 

"If it goes well, we’ll aim to run it annually."

To see the full agenda, speaker list and secure a space visit: www.canny-comms.co.uk/masterclass

Reputation Masterclass 2025

We're proud to announce the launch of Reputation Masterclass 2025.  This new conference is the first aimed at communications and marketing professionals in the defence and security industry. 

First conference for communications and marketing professionals working in defence and security

At Canny, we could easily keep our communication expertise to ourselves. After all, maintaining a competitive advantage is business sense, right? But when it comes to defence and security innovation, we've chosen a different path – and here's why teaching others our skills creates far greater impact than hoarding them ever could.

The exploitation challenge facing defence and security innovation

Every day, brilliant scientists and engineers across the defence and security sector make breakthroughs that could transform how we protect our nation. Yet too many of these innovations remain trapped in laboratories, struggling to make the journey from research to frontline capability.

The problem isn't the quality of the science – it's the communication gap. Experts who can revolutionise warfare often struggle to explain their work to the decision-makers, investors, and end-users who could make it reality. Security constraints, complex technical concepts, and simple lack of media training create barriers that slow innovation adoption when speed could save lives.

When we work directly with organisations, we might help five or ten technologies reach their potential. But when we train experts to become confident communicators themselves, we amplify our impact exponentially.

Train one scientist to articulate their research compellingly, and every project they touch benefits. Train a research team, and you transform an entire organisation's ability to secure funding, attract partners, and drive adoption. Train leaders across the sector, and you accelerate the pace of innovation delivery across defence and security.

This is why our training programmes – from intensive media coaching to our Canny Experts membership – aren't just services. They're force multipliers for the entire defence and security innovation ecosystem.

Beyond business: A mission-driven approach

Our decision to share rather than hoard stems from our core mission: getting great science and technology into the hands of frontline users, faster.

Every expert we train becomes an advocate for their own innovation and a more informed voice in public discourse about defence and security technologies. When technical specialists can communicate confidently with media, they counter disinformation, build public understanding, and create the informed debate our democracy needs around defence and security investment and priorities.

More expert voices in the media means better-informed public discourse, increased collaboration opportunities, and stronger counter-narratives to disinformation about defence and security technologies. In a world where technical misinformation spreads rapidly, having more trained communicators who can explain complex realities is a strategic necessity.

The competitive advantage of collaboration

Some might argue we're training our competition. We see it differently. Collaboration accelerates innovation faster than competition ever could. When the entire sector communicates more effectively, everyone benefits:

Funding flows more readily to promising technologies

Industry partnerships form more quickly around compelling opportunities

End-users adopt innovations faster when they understand the benefits

Public support for defence and security investment strengthens through better communication

The challenge of getting cutting-edge technology from laboratory to frontline is too important for any single organisation to solve alone. By building communication capabilities across the sector, we create an ecosystem where innovation thrives.

As we share our expertise, we're simultaneously enhancing it. We're continuously investing in new approaches to training design and delivery, incorporating insights from psychology, neuroscience, and learning technology to make our programmes more effective.

From understanding how technical minds process communication concepts to leveraging digital platforms for immersive training experiences, we're constantly refining our methods. This commitment to innovation in training delivery ensures we're not just teaching communication – we're demonstrating it through cutting-edge educational practice.

The feedback from every programme participant, the latest research in adult learning, and emerging technologies all feed back into improving how we develop communication excellence. It's a virtuous cycle where sharing knowledge helps us generate better knowledge.

Building the communicators our sector needs

Whether through our intensive face-to-face media training, flexible virtual development programmes, or the comprehensive Canny Experts membership, we're building a community of technical experts who can bridge the gap between complex science and public understanding.

Our Reputation Masterclass brings together these voices annually, showcasing the breadth of expertise across defence and security whilst raising funds for those who have served. It's a tangible demonstration of what becomes possible when expert communicators connect, collaborate, and learn from each other.

True transformation happens when individual capability building creates systemic change. As more technical experts become confident communicators, the entire defence and security sector's ability to articulate its value, secure support, and drive adoption improves.

This isn't just about better presentations or smoother media interviews – though those matter. It's about ensuring that the innovations our nation needs for future security can navigate the complex journey from research breakthrough to operational capability.

In defence and security, the stakes are too high for communication to be an afterthought. Lives depend on getting the right capabilities to the right people at the right time. That's why we teach what we know, train our potential competitors, and invest in building communication excellence across the entire sector.

Because when everyone communicates better, everyone's innovations travel further, faster.

Ready to join the multiplication effect? Explore our training programmes and discover how enhanced communication skills can accelerate your innovation's journey to frontline impact.

Sharing expertise to accelerate defence and security innovation

Why we teach what we know: The multiplication effect of communication skills

Let's start with a truth universally acknowledged in defence innovation circles: A revolutionary technology in possession of poor communications must be in want of attention. 

As part of a £2.2bn addition to the defence budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves just announced a £400 million investment in defence tech, pledging to reform our "broken defence procurement system" and make it "quicker, more agile and more streamlined."  

For innovative SMEs, this should be cause for celebration; there are positive signs regarding the need to improve engagement between SMEs, MOD and prime contractors. 

But here's the inconvenient truth—having brilliant technology isn't enough. And never has been. 

This paradox affects everyone in the defence ecosystem. Whether you're a startup trying to break into the sector, a prime contractor with new capabilities, or indeed the MOD and its agencies trying to communicate your own innovation programmes — you've spent years perfecting technology that could transform battlefield capabilities, save lives and deliver strategic advantage. Yet somehow, the most brilliant innovations often remain on the lab bench. 

Your technology might be invisible by design (we're looking at you, stealth capabilities), but your company and its value proposition shouldn't be. 

Consider the case of Advanced Material Development (AMD), a nanotechnology firm that was creating extraordinary materials but struggling to communicate their defence applications. After implementing a focused communications strategy for DSEI in 2021, it formed over 100 new relationships across industry, government and academia, secured a DASA contract worth approximately £400k, and added £8 million to its company valuation. 

The technology was evolving, but crucially, so was the conversation around it—and that made all the difference. 

The three deadly sins of tech communication 

We've observed a curious phenomenon across the defence tech landscape, affecting both industry innovators and government/military organisations alike: 

You understand your technology so thoroughly that you've forgotten what it's like not to understand it. You explain your breakthrough using acronyms that mean nothing to your audience, and technical language that obscures rather than illuminates.  

TB2 Aerospace had this challenge with their drone recharging operational payload system. Their solution wasn't more technical specifications—it was crafting visual narratives through 3D animations that showed real-world military applications, helping stakeholders immediately grasp its potential. 

You're so focused on your clever solution that you're not properly articulating the problem it solves. "We've built an AI-powered quantum widget!" Great. What operational problem does it address? How does it fit into existing capability frameworks? 

Radnor Range, selected as the Prime contractor for a collaborative autonomous Test and Evaluation project, faced this exact challenge. Rather than simply promote the range and its integrated facilities , it needed to demonstrate how these capabilities positively impacted the speed and quality of test and evaluation. A coordinated communications approach that focused on real outcomes rather than technical features led to a 167% increase in followers and engagement rates 2-3% higher than industry standards. 

Your technology doesn't exist in isolation. It operates within complex defence ecosystems, doctrines, and capability development roadmaps. Without context, even the most impressive technology can appear irrelevant. 

The Land ISTAR programme faced this exact challenge. A tailored communications strategy built on stakeholder interviews is transforming how the programme is perceived and understood. 

The right communications approach can multiply the perceived value of your technology without changing a single line of code or component. 

Sibylline transformed their rather dry global risk register into a rather splendid interactive 3D globe that visualised risks around the world. The information remained the same, but the experience became transformative, driving record attendance at their Annual Forecast event. 

It's not just industry that benefits from this multiplier effect. The MOD and its agencies face the same challenges when communicating their own innovations: 

Bright Corvus, a high-profile R&D programme at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), achieved similar results. Taking time to visualise and communicate the potential battlefield applications of complex radio frequency technologies, it gained significant traction with MPs and senior military personnel at critical events. 

Project ZODIAC succeeded by creating a coordinated communications approach that included striking graphics and targeted materials. This comprehensive approach raised the profile and built understanding of the project amongst both military and industry stakeholders. 

With defence spending set to increase to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, we're looking at billions of pounds flowing into capability development and – strategically - the war in Ukraine has illustrated  both the power of disruptive technologies and the speed at which they can be brough to the front line. But there's a translation gap between innovative technology and defence procurement that swallows promising innovations whole. 

Whether you're in industry or the public sector, your technology represents years of innovation, testing, and refinement. It deserves to be understood—not just by technical peers who already speak your language, but by the people who make acquisition decisions, approve budgets, and determine which technologies make it into the hands of those who need them most. 

Your technology might just change the world. Make sure you're talking about it in a way that gives it the chance. 

Canny specialises in communicating technology and innovation for defence and security. Our team combines expertise in communications and marketing with deep technical knowledge, helping innovative organisations navigate the defence landscape and achieve their goals. 

Want to discuss how your defence innovation can break through? The team stands ready to help.

Book a free 45 minute consultation here: https://lnkd.in/e2fUK2Sf

The team in front of a screen with a CGI animated drone on it showing the TB2 DROPS system

Why your revolutionary defence tech won't change the world...

Experience in communications and marketing (level dependent on role)

Growth mindset and natural curiosity about technology and defence

Interest in emerging technology, geopolitics, and military affairs

Proficiency in social media, marketing, and CRM tools

Willingness to undergo UK MOD security vetting

CIPR qualification (or willingness to obtain one)

Hybrid working with one day a week at Porton Science Park (SP4 0DQ)

Work alongside creative professionals and technical specialists

Purpose-driven projects in defence and security

Supportive environment for veterans, reservists, and military spouses

Send your CV and a note explaining why you'd like to join Canny to helena@canny-comms.co.uk. 

We review applications year-round and will contact you when suitable positions arise.

We actively encourage applications from veterans, reservists, and military spouses.

We're always looking for talented individuals at all levels to join our growing team. Whether you're early in your career or an experienced professional, if you're passionate about defence communications, we want to hear from you.

Join our team

Following a recent site visit by Canny's Helena and Rory, our team witnessed first-hand the development of Fering's ground breaking all-terrain electric utility vehicle. With an unprecedented 8,000-mile range, this revolutionary vehicle has the potential to transform logistics operations worldwide.

Canny will lead Fering's comprehensive marketing strategy, delivering end-to-end services including messaging development, website creation, public relations, and CGI production for the vehicle's launch at IDEX in February 2025. 

This partnership marks another exciting step in Canny's commitment to supporting innovative technology companies that are driving sustainable transportation solutions.

We are thrilled to announce our newest client partnership with Fering, the innovative electric vehicle manufacturer developing next-generation utility vehicles at its Battersea facility. 

NEW CLIENT: Fering

We are a full-service communications consultancy that accelerates innovation from lab to frontline.

What we do

OUR SERVICES

HYDRA X MBDA

Launching Fering's Pioneer X

Project ZODIAC

Land ISTAR Programme:

Do we sound like the ideal partner for you?