UK taps Ukraine lessons to invest GBP 1 billion into warfare systems

By Ellen Milligan

 

The UK will invest more than £1 billion ($1.4 billion) in a new digital targeting system to allow the country’s armed forces to pinpoint and eliminate enemy targets more swiftly as part of a forthcoming revamp of Britain’s defensive capabilities. 

 

In its strategic defense review, expected to be published in full next week, the UK will also set up a new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command to protect military networks against tens of thousands of cyber attacks a year and help coordinate Britain’s own cyber operations, the Ministry of Defence said Thursday in a statement. The command will also lead operations to jam enemy signals to drones and missiles and help intercept military communications. 

 

 

“The hard-fought lessons from Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine leave us under no illusions that future conflicts will be won through forces that are better connected, better equipped and innovating faster than their adversaries,” Defence Secretary John Healey said. “We will give our armed forces the ability to act at speeds never seen before - connecting ships, aircraft, tanks and operators so they can share vital information instantly and strike further and faster.” 

 

The new funding forms part of the government’s commitment to increase defense spending to 2.5 per cent of economic output by 2027 and is the first announcement from the long-awaited defense review. The MoD vowed the new strategy would “end the hollowing out” of the UK Armed Forces — the army is at its smallest size since the Napoleonic era — and focus on driving innovation in its defense industry over the next decade. 

 

Still, the UK is likely to come under pressure to increase its spending further, as NATO begins negotiations with members to adopt a new target at its June summit. That target is set to be 5 per cent of economic output, with 3.5 per cent on hard defense spending, and 1.5 per cent on military-related expenditures like cyber and border security.  

 

The £1 billion UK investment will help establish a ‘Digital Targeting Web’ by 2027 to better connect Britain’s weapons systems to speed-up decisions for targeting enemy threats on the battlefield. The MOD said a threat could be identified by a sensor on a ship or in space before being disabled by one of its fighter jets or drones, through enhanced communication between its armed forces.