I wrote the UK defence review: Britain must accelerate reform if it is to help guarantee Ukraine’s security
EXPERT COMMENT
The SDR set out the steps to meet the UK’s responsibilities as part of the ‘coalition of the willing’. But time is short to make the necessary changes.
Two major features dominated UK defence and security in 2025: the publication of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) in June and discussions, led by Britain and France, to form a ‘coalition of the willing’ to underpin a ceasefire or settlement in Ukraine. Both draw attention to the same imperative: the need for a transformation in UK defence.
The SDR described a world dominated by state-level confrontation and conflict, playing out amidst combinations of population growth, climate change, nuclear weapons proliferation, and the extraordinarily pervasive effects of the digital age.
It contrasted the level of threat with the much-diminished potency of the UK armed forces. All three services were reduced in size, quality and readiness during the 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall – even accounting for the ‘War on Terror’ and commitments in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Writing the review, my fellow authors and I concluded that restoring deterrence in this new era of major strategic risk could not be based upon rebuilding ‘traditional’ model forces. With armed forces evolving at the speed of technological innovation, a new industrial partnership is required to make the UK ready for the modern battlefield. And it must arrive at speed.
Recent probes by drones and fighter aircraft into Polish and Estonian airspace show that the Russian threat is urgent and applies across the continent of Europe – and that Moscow has every intention of testing NATO’s defences and willingness to react.
The UK should progress reform at speed to meet the challenges ahead – particularly if it is to lead efforts to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.
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