UK’s new strategic plan highlights cyber warfare, AI, and digital command as central to future security posture
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will invest over £1 billion in cutting-edge technology aimed at transforming the way Britain’s armed forces make decisions on the battlefield, as part of a landmark strategic defence review unveiled by the new Labour government. The long-awaited review, described by Defence Secretary John Healey as the “first of its kind,” marks a fundamental shift in the UK’s defence priorities, placing a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence, cyber warfare, and real-time data integration. Central to the new strategy is the development of a “Digital Targeting Web,” which will use satellite, drone, and aircraft data to deliver rapid, AI-assisted targeting capabilities to soldiers on the ground.
Unveiling the review at the UK’s cyber defence headquarters in Corsham, Wiltshire, Healey said, “The keyboard is now a weapon of war. The battlefield is not just on land, sea or air—but in cyberspace. We are responding to that reality with urgency and resolve.” The £1bn investment is just one element of a broader commitment to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027, with an ambition to push it to 3% during the next parliamentary term. Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously announced that this boost in military funding would be partly financed by reallocating funds from the foreign aid budget—marking a controversial but deliberate prioritisation of national security in a rapidly shifting global landscape.
The defence review draws heavily from the lessons of the war in Ukraine, where the effective use of drones, AI, and software by Ukrainian forces has allowed them to rapidly identify and strike Russian targets. The UK aims to replicate and scale such innovations across its armed forces.
“With this review, we are laying the groundwork to ensure Britain becomes the fastest-innovating military within the NATO alliance,” Healey said. “That means better integration of intelligence, faster decision-making, and more agile force deployment.”
The Digital Targeting Web will help front-line troops receive and process battlefield intelligence within seconds, a process that previously took hours or even days. Using AI-driven systems, soldiers will be able to locate, track, and neutralise threats with unprecedented speed and precision.
In addition to conventional upgrades, the review signals a major expansion of the UK’s cyber warfare capabilities. Over the past two years, the British military has faced more than 90,000 cyber-attacks from adversaries, with many of them linked to state-sponsored actors in Russia and China. One recent operation thwarted a Russian-attributed malware attack targeting UK personnel returning from overseas duty.
To meet this growing threat, the MoD has announced the creation of a new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command, which will take charge of both cyber defence and electronic warfare. This command will be responsible for everything from disrupting enemy communications to jamming hostile drones, and it will oversee the UK’s offensive cyber operations—an area where the UK has been increasingly active. Defence officials stressed that the changing face of warfare demands a corresponding evolution in Britain’s defence infrastructure. As cyber threats become more sophisticated and global military tensions escalate, traditional defence models are no longer sufficient.
The UK’s renewed focus on technological dominance aligns with calls from NATO leadership to raise military spending across the alliance. NATO’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte recently urged members to increase their defence budgets to more than 3.5% of GDP to meet growing security challenges from Russia, China, and other emerging threats.
While the UK’s current target of 2.5% is among the highest in Europe, some security analysts argue that further increases may be inevitable, particularly as the global security environment continues to deteriorate.
For now, however, the strategic defence review signals a clear shift: Britain is placing its bets on speed, innovation, and cyber superiority as it prepares for the wars of tomorrow.
