Recommendation 13

HM Government Acknowledged

As previously stated, at the heart of the Command Paper was a vision to set the Armed Forces on a course of transformation to meet the threats of the future. As part of this process equipment will be retired, and, as appropriate, replaced. Decisions to sunset equipment are supported through the constant process of monitoring and development of technology which occurs in the department, to ensure that our threat assessment remains appropriate. To counter and address future threats and challenges, Defence will require a cross- Government integrated force, with the appropriate authorities and capabilities, to conduct activities within the integrated operating framework: protect, engage, constrain and warfight. This will comprise conventional and hybrid capabilities, as well as nuclear deterrence, that can be employed seamlessly across the operational domains: land, air, maritime, space, and cyber & electromagnetic. Investing in cutting-edge technology and skills in the UK is vital to both our security and prosperity – the defence landscape is evolving rapidly, and our enemies are operating in increasingly sophisticated ways to further their own interests. To meet the threats of tomorrow, the UK must invest in the defence of tomorrow and that requires investment in our R&D. We are committed to spending £6.6 billion over the next four years on our R&D to accomplish this, allowing our Armed Forces to be better prepared to meet new and emerging threats. We have had to take some difficult choices to modernise our equipment and prepare to be more persistently engaged and integrated across domains. This has also allowed us to modernise our existing capabilities and develop future technologies and innovation. Our investment will maintain and modernise our existing capabilities, for example Typhoon Radar 2, to ensure our existing capabilities are matched to the evolving threat. Through the IR, and SR20, Defence was trying to balance the capability risk, the financial risk and the operating concepts, to deliver the best capability we can for our Armed Forces to meet the threats we face today and in the future within a defined funding envelope. We made capability decisions in the Defence Command Paper including to invest in space and cyber which were underpinned by a set of risk judgments about the capability the UK could field in the middle of the decade as we transition and recapitalise our force, especially in the Land domain. Britain has always achieved mass through its alliances e.g. NATO. Mass can also be achieved by the concentration of forces. The real challenge is concurrent deployments. That is why greater investment in alliances and bilateral relationships (NATO, JEF, etc.) can facilitate with concurrency. As stated in our wider response, we believe that modernisation must remain our focus and be at the heart of delivering an Armed Forces fit for the future, however we also must not lose sight of the needs of the Armed Forces today, and we will therefore look to mitigate nearer term readiness risks. In line with the agile planning and delivery mechanisms developed following the IR and as part of the Government’s decision to update the IR, Defence will continue to review our capabilities and readiness levels accordingly.