Amid a rapidly shifting geopolitical context, Britain’s defence policy needs a fundamental rethink, says a new report published today by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI).
‘Reimagining Defence and Security: New Capabilities for New Challenges’, based on extensive consultation with defence experts and leaders in emerging technology, examines the implications of shifting global alliances and the role of technology and cybersecurity, and makes a series of practical recommendations. These include:
Putting a strategic approach to defence and security at the heart of government, with a National Security Team in Downing Street.
Building different and better capabilities, including mass producing cheap, easily replaceable drones.
Taking a radically different approach to procurement, with deeper, earlier involvement of the private sector, and creating an agency to expand industry partnerships.
Recruiting and retaining personnel with a new mix of skills, reorganising training
Securing the right alliances and partners to deliver the right strategy, with greater focus on increased collaboration, agility and adaptability.
More strategic engagement with allies to ensure the UK’s capabilities complement and enhance those of the alliances we are within.
Benedict Macon-Cooney, Chief Policy Strategist at TBI and lead author for the paper, said:
“The UK faces profound challenges to our defence and security policy. In this new world, keeping Britain safe requires new thinking.
“As recent conflicts have shown, new technologies are being integrated with other more traditional capabilities and AI opens up new possibilities for economic and military strength.
“At a time when government processes are too slow, the running costs are too high and the way it partners and procures out-of-date, we are falling far too far behind to say we are a superior military force today.
“Our paper draws on the thinking and experience of leaders across technology and defence, and proposes radical but vital changes we believe are needed to reimagine the UK’s approach to defence and security.”
In a foreword for the report former US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy said:
“This paper by the Tony Blair Institute sets out some truly fundamental and important questions that any future defence strategy needs to answer, as well as a new model for how such a strategy could be developed in the UK and with key allies.
“It rightly calls on the broader defence and national-security community to reimagine allied defence strategy given the evolving threat landscape, reconceive of the processes we use to develop strategy, reform the way we procure new capabilities and recruit talent into defence, and rethink our forces and force posture to be able to keep the peace in a more contested and dangerous future security environment.”