Decoding UK's strategic defence review

UK's Strategic Defence Review outlines major military reforms, digital targeting web, autonomous systems, and NATO-focused strategy amid rising Russian threat.

- ANTONIA FILMER

Classified war games are common in the Ministry of Defence; they are used to "stress-test" scenarios, strategies and various war-time challenges. "The Wargame" podcast was devised by Sky News and Tortoise Media; it imagines how a Russian attack on the UK could play out; real-life former ministers and war experts brainstorm how to defend the UK. The scenario is unlikely but potentially catastrophic; it pinpoints Britain's current weaknesses.

The Wargame was released before the launch of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) commissioned by PM Keir Starmer and compiled by Lord George Robertson, General Sir Richard Barrons (who played the part of CDS in The Wargame), and Dr Fiona Hill; it recommends the biggest changes to the Army, Navy and Air Force in 150 years. In his statement, Starmer refers to the failure of supply chains during the Pandemic as an example of why national resilience matters today, and how he wants to galvanize innovation and procurement at a "wartime pace".

John Healey, Defence Secretary, expands the theme of managing a new era of state-level confrontation, with Russia foremost for the UK today, and how technology is changing Defence organisation, equipment and method. The SDR identified the need to address a wide range of threats to domestic security - from terrorism, serious organised crime, and extremism to state threats. The Wargame was an introduction to this new potential reality.