- The UK finally released is long anticipated and routinely delayed Defence Investment Plan
- While British industry leaders expressed relief in the comfort of the strategic direction the document provides, there is still concern about implementation
- Lacking detail, executives suggest the success of Plan hinges on capacity and delivery
A long time coming, the UK’s Defence Investment Plan (DIP) finally dropped on 30 June to the relief of business leaders waiting for some direction from the Government.
Despite this assurance, however, some eyebrows have curled in consternation over the lack of detail, figures or a roadmap for implementation in what is meant to be a comprehensive cost breakdown for the next decade.
Instead, the document reads more like another wish list than a breakdown of materiel. It serves in providing a new strategic direction – much like the Strategic Defence Review – but tempered by realistic fiscal restrictions.
With few spending figures, no procurement schedules and almost no platform numbers, the DIP does little to clarify the future force structure – such as the exact number of uncrewed systems. Greater clarity on platform numbers will help industry to understand the intended balance between crewed and uncrewed assets in the hybrid navy, for example.
There are lingering questions, and British industry leaders are picking up on this.
Capacity
Despite the priorities established in the DIP, the country’s defence industrial base is not up to scratch after a year of delays.
“The real test of this investment won’t be how much is spent, but whether it modernises Britain’s defence industrial base,” noted Stephen Bennington, chief executive for Bristol robotics firm Q5D.
The company managed to secure a contract with the US Army for its automated wire harness last month while the UK was hand-tied by infighting over fiscal constraints.
“If we want to field autonomous capabilities at speed,” Bennington continued, “we also need the manufacturing capacity to build, repair and evolve them just as quickly.”
Although, the Government has allocated £182m ($241.8m) toward a skills package over the next five years, to overcome the root problem of the growing manufacturing skills shortage.
However, it will take years to rebuild capacity and repopulate the skills market at a time when Russia is already conducting hybrid activities on the threshold of war.
This has led some observers to suggest that such measures are too little, too late.
“Is there funding enough?” asks Paul Jenkinson, CEO of Whitespace, a start-up that deployed its artificial intelligence system on HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier during Operation Highmast last year.
“In my opinion, it is insufficient because we need to accelerate our capabilities, and we won’t regain lost time. Applying fiscal restrictions at such a perilous time is not a smart move,” Jenkinson concluded.
Delivery
Ukraine has proved very flexible in getting the kit it needs to its soldiers in a timely manner.
This reality prompted Liam Hutcheson, UK director for MyDefence, a company focused on counter-drone systems, to comment:
“Threats can evolve in weeks, while traditional procurement cycles can take far longer. Closing that gap is crucial to meeting the demands of modern conflict.”
Months before the DIP was released, the Government went some way to addressing this in its Segmented Acquisition Model, a three-tier system that launched in April, with faster timelines for each tier relative to the capability being purchased.
“The real test, however, is whether the MoD can turn strategic intent into fielded operational capability at the pace modern conflict demands,” Hutcheson pondered.
Although this addresses the pace of delivery, the Government has always struggled to embrace small to medium enterprises (SMEs), where the meaningful innovation resides.
Andrew Thomis, CEO of Cohort, a group of European defence suppliers, warned:
“It’s important that the £50 billion funding is not used solely for large headline contracts and is made available to support mid-sized companies that can adapt, innovate and scale at pace.”
