WIREDGOV

In July 2024 the Prime Minister announced the Strategy Defence Review to ‘determine the roles, capabilities and reforms required by UK Defence to meet the challenges, threats and opportunities of the twenty-first century’.

Throughout the summer techUK’s Defence Programme consulted with both Prime and SME members to produce a series of recommendations for Government on how the Ministry of Defence approaches technology:  

An explicit focus on digital technologies as a priority 

Defence needs to place more prominence on Digital. The Integrated Force must be designed with an information architecture a prerequisite. Technology platforms, sensors, systems and military platforms must be designed around the data required to deliver an effect, kinetic or otherwise. This is the means to reap the greatest return on investment in military capabilities. The fundamental architecture onto which these integrate allows rapid technology insertion and innovation. Defence urgently requires the fundamental technology platform onto which the AI revolution can be implemented.

Recognising the cyber threat 

The Cyber threat demands more investment in securing the vulnerabilities of data and technology for in-service and future capabilities. Across Defence there is technical debt of capabilities that will remain in-service for many years to come, the resultant cyber risk of which needs to be managed now by implementing “secure by design” in practical terms. Data-centric security such as zero trust must be taken as best practice from industry. Operating separate environments for operational cyber capabilities and threat response duplicates effort and risks creating gaps through which threats can penetrate. Therefore, the MOD should look to merge Network Operations Centre (NOC) and Security Operations Centre (SOC) duties, allowing service-affecting issues to be viewed through a cyber lens and vice versa.

Reforming the innovation and acquisition processes to harness digital technologies 

The acquisition system does not serve Digital well. Defence needs closer meaningful partnerships with industry to solve common challenges and to attract investment and exports. Uncommitted funds for fast-moving and innovative technology insertion are liable to short-term savings regimes. Capabilities must be measured not by narrow characteristics, but by their contribution to the overall Defence system.

The MOD requires innovation intelligence across all units to ensure they are not pursuing capabilities that already exist, particularly when those capabilities are based on common technology stacks. There are too many innovation units across MOD delivery agencies and Front-Line Commands, each with their own evaluation and procurement processes, with funding spread too thinly. The MOD should conduct an immediate and comprehensive review of all, with the express aim of consolidation.

The MOD requires a single authority with the responsibility of overseeing innovation investment, ensuring interoperability and pull-through from one service into others when projects prove successful. This authority would also function as an Inspectorate of IT Standards, with the power to conduct routine and snap inspections of the Defence IT estate, holding to account those using shadow IT and issuing penalties where appropriate. This all requires coherence of capability sponsorship, with an authoritative operating model throughout the capability lifecycle that designs and enforces (or otherwise) the appropriate integration. It needs an architecturally led acquisition model driving investment priorities and performance management of delivery across all domains.

The full submission can be found here:

 techUK Strategic Defence Review Submission