Defence plan for battle-ready UK

ARTIFICIAL intelligence, drones and a £1 billion investment in homeland missile defence are all part of the plans to keep the UK safe in the face of threats from Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the rise of China.

- CAITLIN DOHERTY

There should be room for a “small uplift” in the number of full-time Army soldiers, and personnel in back-office roles released to “front-line roles” under the recommendations of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR).

Defence Secretary John Healey has pledged to “create a British Army that is 10 times more lethal” through software and long-range weapons, and committed to delivering “the best kit and technology into the hands of our front-line forces”.

The “transformation” signalled by the SDR marks the “most profound change for about 150 years in how you think about armies, navies and air force,” one of the authors of the review, General Sir Richard Barrons, said yesterday.

The military have been told that “an immediate priority” should be a “shift towards greater use of autonomy and artificial intelligence”, while the Army should be prepared to operate with “a 20-40-40” mix between crewed systems, “reusable” technology such as drones, and “consumables” such as rockets, shells and missiles.