Ross Powlesland

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Ross is AWE’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). In this role, he is responsible for leading AWE’s Programmes, Product Delivery (Operations) and the Portfolio Management Office (PMO). Prior to this role, Ross was Programme Director for the Trident Warhead programme.

Prior to joining AWE, Ross was Managing Director, Military Solutions, within Lockheed Martin (LM) UK. In this role, he was responsible for leading the Military Solutions business – comprising Maritime (ships & submarines), Merlin Mk2 and Sustainment business units, delivering a range of capabilities and support programmes to the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

Ahead of joining LM, Ross held senior leadership roles with Vector Aerospace (Airbus Helicopters), QinetiQ and BAE SYSTEMS. In his role as Operations Director for Vector Aerospace’s Helicopter Services business, he was responsible for the strategic direction and general management of over 600 employees, providing Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services to the UK MoD’s Chinook, Lynx and Sea King fleets, in addition to a commercial customer base.

Ross held the roles of Operations Director and Managing Director for one of the two formative businesses, now comprising QinetiQ’s Air Division at MoD Boscombe Down, delivering air Test & Evaluation services to the UK MoD and platform OEMs, by a team of over 1000 civilian and military personnel.

Ross started his career with BAE SYSTEMS as an Avionics Systems Engineer, developing integrated navigation systems for fast-jet, missile and munition applications prior to moving into the Programme Management discipline. He graduated from the Royal Military College of Science with a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) degree in Aeromechanical Systems Engineering and Salford University with a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Advanced Systems Engineering.

Ross lives in Hampshire with his family. He loves all sports including cycling, running and skiing, and is a keen motorcyclist.

Latest news

Strategic Alliance Partners Conference hits the mark

Senior representatives from AWE, the Defence Nuclear Organisation (DNO), the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) and the university community gathered at the recently held Strategic Alliance Partners Conference to discuss and debate areas of STEM that support our mission. The two-day event organised by the External Technical Partnerships Office brought together government, academia, […]

Features

28 Apr 2025

Strengthening International Ties

International collaboration is vital in strengthening national defence and nuclear security and despite the high levels of security involved, collaboration amongst allies is strong. At AWE, a dedicated team of experts, advisors and business managers govern regular exchanges with international partners to facilitate collaboration and cooperation, and support research and development in nuclear science and […]

Detecting the undetectable

At AWE Blacknest, experts in forensic seismology work behind the scenes to support the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Their mission? To detect and verify potential nuclear tests worldwide by analysing seismic data. Our seismologists play a key role in upholding global security and arms control through cutting-edge research, international collaboration, and advanced monitoring techniques.