Hampshire’s Barnbrook Systems joins defence and tech giants with first US office

Barnbrook Systems, the Fareham-based engineering firm, is targeting international growth with the opening of its first office in the United States.

The company already holds Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accreditation, and it supplies American blue chip giants including Gulfstream and Boeing.

Now Barnbrook has set up an American headquarters in McLean – situated within the aerospace, defence and tech hub of Fairfax County, Virginia.

It puts the firm close to the Pentagon and Washington DC as well as a host of leading international businesses.

Four of the top five defence contractors have operations in Fairfax County, where the US Department of Defence awarded contracts worth $17.3 billion in 2023.

Andrew Barnett, managing director of Barnbrook Systems, said: “Fairfax is the perfect location, with its proximity to the heart of the US defence and aerospace industry, global primes and an innovative and tech-based business ecosystem.

“Although we’ve served the American market for many years, we now have enough velocity to lift off with our own office following a highly successful 2024 and the launch of new solutions and services.

“With the inauguration of Donald Trump, it means we can hit the ground running in an ever-changing world and have the opportunity to directly access primes and their supply chains.

“We’re aiming for a year of unprecedented growth through our new technologies, and the opening of our American office is a key pillar in our expansion strategy.”

Barnbrook, with nearly 50 staff, supplies solutions such as an intelligent refuelling switch for helicopters and reverse-engineered ‘sunset and legacy’ products and systems for which operators could no longer find replacements or fix – such as engine controls and speed switches for older combat aircraft.

Many of its systems are enabled with Barnbrook’s own BlueCube intelligent internet of things (IIOT) remote sensing and tracking technology.

This includes its BlueDot systems for green hydrogen and its E:BAG lithium-ion battery fire suppression system, created with fellow Fareham tech firm Flair.