Ministry of Defence

A small team of UK planning officers, led by a 2* deputy commander, have embedded in the US-led Civil Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) in Israel to ensure that the UK remains integrated into the US-led planning efforts for Gaza post-conflict stability. This team is not monitoring the ceasefire in Gaza. The UK continues to work with international partners to support the Gaza ceasefire to see where the UK can best contribute to the peace process.

To achieve the Strategic Defence Review’s vision of the UK as a leading tech-enabled defence power, with an Integrated Force that deters, fights, and wins through constant innovation at wartime pace, Defence must transform to become more integrated by design, innovation-led, and industry backed.

One of the ways we will achieve this transformation is by making it easier for everyone developing UK military equipment, to rapidly assess if their systems are safe, fit for purpose, and capable of contributing to the success of UK military operations. Operations which will increasingly rely on advanced technology, rapid and reliable integration of new systems into complex capabilities, and a faster feedback loop from the frontline to the factory floor.

This is the scope of the Test and Evaluation Transformation programme, to build the world’s most productive, relevant, and responsive, military test and evaluation enterprise here in the UK. The programme will focus on delivering the common technical, commercial, and architectural enablers required to make this a reality by the early 2030s, with several initiatives already underway and others announced recently in the Defence Industrial Strategy. Future levels of funding in the programme are subject to the outcome of the Defence Investment Plan, and its delivery will be guided by the ideas set out in ‘Future Advantage Through Evaluation’ (FATE), MOD’s concept for future test and evaluation:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-test-and-evaluation-future-advantage-through-evaluation-fate

The advanced new air defence interceptor drone, named Project Octopus, will be mass produced in the UK with a target to produced thousands per month to provide to Ukraine to support its ongoing fight for freedom against Russia’s illegal full scale invasion. No decision has yet been made on the proportion of manufacturing to be conducted in the UK and in Ukraine.

The UK's regional partners listed in the Strategic Defence Review include Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The UK also has a long-standing partnership with Brunei, where we have recently renewed our agreement to maintain the Garison, which is home to a battalion from the Royal Gurkha Regiment. Alongside New Zealand and Australia, Singapore and Malaysia, the UK is a member of the Five Power Defence Arrangements, which promotes cooperation and interoperability in the region. The UK also regularly collaborate with our remaining Five Eyes partners Canada and the United States.

In response to a Ukrainian demand for additional long-range effectors, the Ministyry of Defence initiated Project BRAKESTOP, which is the development of a new, low-cost, ground launched, 200kg+, cruise missile for Ukraine, with a 600km+ range.

The project was initiated in October 2024 with industry engagement followed by an invitation to tender. Full details of the specifications for BRAKESTOP are available via the publicly accessible Defence Sourcing Portal.

The Defence Investors Advisory Group has been established, and its co-chairs have been announced as Kerry Baldwin and Sharon White.

We expect manufacture of the advanced new air defence interceptor drone, named Project Octopus, to begin within weeks. This Project will see the mass production of these drones with a target to produce thousands per month for Ukraine.

At the latest Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting on 15 October, it was announced that over 85,000 military drones have been delivered to Ukraine in the past six months with £600 million invested by the UK to accelerate drone delivery.

This Defence Industrial Strategy (published on 8 September 2025) emphasises the importance of supporting UK-based businesses, to build a thriving, resilient and competitive UK industrial base. The nature of the support we are providing UK-based businesses is set out in Section 4 and includes a comprehensive review of defence contracting, establishing a new Defence Office for Small Business Growth and dedicated SME Commercial pathway, and transforming the way we export through the new Office for Defence Exports and new Government-to-Government exports offer. There are further measures throughout the strategy to create the business environment needed to the UK defence industry to thrive and grow in priority areas.

The Ministry of Defence are currently exploring various options regarding the anchor from HMS Prince of Wales, but no final decisions have yet been made. The Malaysian authorities continue to have primacy over the investigation into the illegal salvage of the ship.

Analysis of docking capacity for the maintenance of Submarines and Warships is the subject of ongoing analysis as part of the Royal Navy’s planning process - the Naval Support Integrated Global Network (NSIGN) Programme is an integral part of this.

There are no current plans to mandate the use of Gibraltar for Submarine Dry Docking.

The Defence Industrial Strategy, published on 8 September 2025, sets out our vision to make the UK defence sector more competitive, integrated, innovative and resilient. To do this, we are backing UK based businesses (Section 4), fixing defence procurement (Section 7) and putting the UK at the leading edge of defence innovation (Section 5), to make defence an engine for growth. Recent steps include the launch of UK Defence Innovation, the launch of an offset regime consultation, and progress towards the establishment of the Defence Office for Small Business Growth in Spring 2026. The Defence Investment Plan will include economic growth considerations and offer long-term procurement signals to encourage investment.

One of the top priority outcomes in the Defence Industrial Strategy, published on 8 September 2025, is to put the UK at the leading edge of defence innovation. To support tech companies to scale up we have launched the new UK Defence Innovation (UKDI), supported by a ringfenced annual budget of at least £400 million. UKDI will support and grow the UK technology sector, including improving companies’ access to innovation funding and advice, and drive pace and agility of defence innovation (Section 5.2). In addition, we are also streamlining the regulatory environment to make it fit for the current era of threat, removing barriers limiting faster delivery, scale up and innovation at wartime pace (Section 5.2.4).

REPLICATOR 2 is a US Department of War initiative delivered through the US Defense Innovation Unit (US DIU) to Counter threats from Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS). Under this initiative UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) has entered into a joint project with the US DIU to rapidly develop Low Collateral Defeat (LCD) solutions to counter small-Unmanned Aerial Systems (CsUAS) within the US or UK homeland.

The project is being run by the US DIU utilising their Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) process. Phase 1 took place in May 2025, and saw over 200 US and UK companies apply to the Area of Interest issued by the USDIU. Following a period of evaluation, which included UK participation, 18 potential solutions were down-selected to present their solutions to a joint US-UK evaluation board. Upon completion of this board in September 2025, eight companies, including two UK options, were selected for Phase 2 – Prototyping. Following this, any successful protypes, will be considered for procurement by UK and US transition partners.

The Defence Industrial Strategy adopts a whole of society approach to the defence sector and redefines the UK defence industrial base to include academic institutions based on the contribution they make to defence Research and Development and the provision of skills and education needed in the workforce that defence relies upon.

UK Defence Innovation track relevant UK defence scale-ups. The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) Business Growth and Finance team tracks approximately 300 high-growth SMEs in real time using the Beauhurst platform. Around 70% of these companies are demonstrating scale-up potential, evidenced through annualised growth rates, revenue, equity investment and other signals.

The Business Growth and Finance team focuses on supporting SMEs with scale-up potential.

Investigations into the illegal salvage are still ongoing. The Ministry of Defence is unable to provide a response regarding the presence of human remains until these investigations have concluded.

Should any remains of British Service personnel be identified, the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) will ensure that they are afforded a dignified military funeral and final resting place.

This Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) (published on 8 September 2025) sets how we will deliver a more competitive, innovative, resilient and integrated defence sector to make defence an engine for growth. To assess progress against the priority outcomes of the strategy we will consider a range of indicators, including levels of venture capital investment in UK defence companies. This is being considered as part of our DIS implementation plan, ensuring that we improve the data we hold on venture capital investment in defence.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Department for Education (DfE) recognise the vital work of Cadet Forces in schools, membership of which is proven to help develop self-confidence, teamwork, leadership and resilience in young people. Since 2012 the two Departments have been working together on the joint Cadet Expansion Programme (CEP) in schools. This has seen a significant increase in the number of Cadet Units in schools – the vast majority being Combined Cadet Force contingents – with the focus on improving provision in the state sector. Prior to the CEP, 75% of School Cadet Units were in independent schools; now around 60% are in the state sector.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) recommended an expansion of in-school and community-based Cadet Forces across the UK of 30% by 2030, an increase of some 40,000 new Cadets, backed by an investment of £70 million. The CEP will form a key component of this initiative. Expanding the Cadet Forces, which provide skills and qualifications to young people from diverse backgrounds, and support economic growth, will benefit all areas of the UK, and work is already underway to establish where the 30% increase will be realised. The SDR is clear on the need for a whole of society approach to defence and the ongoing relationship between the MOD and the DfE is an important element of that plan.

The Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme (DSCCP) is a multi-year transformation programme aimed at building resilient, agile, and collaborative supply chains underpinning both national security and economic growth.

It is a central delivery vehicle for the Defence Industrial Strategy and the Strategic Defence Review, aligning priorities to safeguard operational and UK sovereignty, industry and warfighting readiness; embedding resilience, and a more transparent, innovative partnership with industry.

The programme is shifting from reactive to proactive supply chain risk management, underpinned by digital innovation. Capabilities including scenario modelling and supply architecture will help anticipate disruptions and assess operational impact. Early industry involvement in capability development—through the Defence Joint Industrial Council—will strengthen collaboration, by providing industry with much more visibility of Ministry of Defence future plans.

I am withholding details of when HMS VICTORIOUS will complete her refit and re-join the Fleet as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

As of July 1, 2025 UK Defence Innovation has reached initial operating capability.

UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) represents a fundamental transformation of how the Ministry of Defence (MOD) approaches innovation. We recognised that for too long, innovative companies and start-ups faced significant barriers when trying to engage with defence innovation programmes. The previous landscape was fragmented, slow, and difficult to navigate, which prevented promising companies from scaling their solutions and securing the investment they needed to grow.

The Establishment of UKDI consolidates and simplifies structures, creating a clearer pathway for innovation that aligns with the Government's agile state agenda and ensures we can harness the best of British innovation for our defence capabilities.

Sat at the heart of the National Armaments Director Group, UKDI will accelerate the adoption of cutting-edge commercial technology in support of Defence’s most pressing strategic challenges. We are drawing upon the success of the US Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) model relevant to the UK Ministry of Defence.

As of July 1, 2025 UK Defence Innovation has reached initial operating capability.

UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) represents a fundamental transformation of how the Ministry of Defence (MOD) approaches innovation. We recognised that for too long, innovative companies and start-ups faced significant barriers when trying to engage with defence innovation programmes. The previous landscape was fragmented, slow, and difficult to navigate, which prevented promising companies from scaling their solutions and securing the investment they needed to grow.

The Establishment of UKDI consolidates and simplifies structures, creating a clearer pathway for innovation that aligns with the Government's agile state agenda and ensures we can harness the best of British innovation for our defence capabilities.

Sat at the heart of the National Armaments Director Group, UKDI will accelerate the adoption of cutting-edge commercial technology in support of Defence’s most pressing strategic challenges. We are drawing upon the success of the US Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) model relevant to the UK Ministry of Defence.

This Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) (published on 8 September 2025) sets how we will deliver a more competitive, innovative, resilient and integrated defence sector to make defence an engine for growth. To assess progress against the priority outcomes of the strategy we will consider a range of indicators, including a competition index. This is being considered as part of our DIS implementation plan.

I cannot provide specific detail for the numbers of men and women who entered the submarine service as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

The offsets consultation was launched on 23 October 2025.

UK support to Ukraine has already generated hundreds of new British jobs. The partnership will enable the UK to manufacture and jointly develop cutting-edge military equipment in collaboration with Ukrainian industry. This will continue to support hundreds of British jobs and strengthen the national security of both the UK and Ukraine.

The UK defence sector has several existing options aimed at supporting innovation, resilience and growth across supply chains. Government options include the National Wealth Fund, the British Business Bank and National Security Strategic Investment Fund.

As part of the Defence Investors Advisory Group and the Defence Finance and Investment Strategy Ministry of Defence will work with these entities and as well as wider investment and finance community to find further opportunities for the Defence sector and how barriers to investment in defence can be removed while making the sector more attractive for private investment, including venture capital, private equity and pension funds.

The new industrial partnership between UK and Ukraine has already made significant progress.

We have agreed project arrangements and we expect to start UK manufacturing of OCTOPUS drones within weeks.. Through project Octopus, our Ukrainian friends will share the technology and intellectual property with the UK – in turn we’ll develop this further and mass produce it to supply thousands of interceptor drones back to Ukraine monthly.

The new industrial partnership between UK and Ukraine has already made significant progress.

We have agreed project arrangements and we expect to start UK manufacturing of OCTOPUS drones within weeks.. Through project Octopus, our Ukrainian friends will share the technology and intellectual property with the UK – in turn we’ll develop this further and mass produce it to supply thousands of interceptor drones back to Ukraine monthly.

As part of the groundbreaking new technology sharing agreement with Ukraine, the first project, Octopus, will focus solely on the joint development of an advanced new air defence interceptor drone.

The Defence Universities Alliance (DUA) will form a more strategic relationship between defence and the Higher Education sector to support national security and UK growth, building on existing collaborative relationships between the sectors.

The Ministry of Defence is currently engaging with Universities UK and the UK’s Higher Education Sector to develop the DUA. There have been a number of workshops with Vice Chancellors of various Universities in the week commencing 21 October which have developed our understanding of the DUA. Further details will be published in due course.

As part of the groundbreaking new technology sharing agreement with Ukraine, an advanced air defence interceptor drone, named Project Octopus, will be mass-produced in the UK. The programme targets the production of thousands of drones each month to support Ukraine in its ongoing fight for freedom against President Putin’s illegal full-scale invasion, while also strengthening the UK defence industry.

The Defence Industrial Strategy set out measures to generate greater value from the Ministry of Defence’s procurement spend to boost UK investment, growth and employment making defence an engine for growth. We have launched an offsets consultation on 23 October. It runs for 12 weeks.

The Defence Industrial Strategy set out measures to generate greater value from the Ministry of Defence’s procurement spend to boost UK investment, growth and employment making defence an engine for growth. An offset policy is being explored as a means to achieve this which will include consultations with expert stakeholders from across the UK defence industrial base including suppliers of all sizes, the Trade Associations, the Trade Unions, Think Tanks and academic institutions. Consultations will also include international suppliers and our key allies and partners.

It is too early at this time to identify a pipeline of projects over the next five to ten years that may utilise the new planning routes.

Ministry of Defence (MOD) Officials are currently drafting updated procedures to enable the use of these new routes. The intent is this guidance will be incorporated into MOD procedure by April 2026.

UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) represents a fundamental transformation of how the Ministry of Defence approaches innovation. We recognise that innovative companies, start-ups and non-traditional defence suppliers have long faced significant barriers when engaging with defence innovation programmes.

UKDI will invest in frameworks and initiatives to foster business growth and attract increased investment into SMEs, start-ups, and non-traditional defence suppliers. This approach aims to cultivate a diverse and agile supply chain, ensuring the delivery of cutting-edge capabilities to support national security and defence. Simultaneously, these efforts will align with the UKDI's strategic objectives of advancing the technology sector and driving economic growth.

UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) represents a fundamental transformation of how the Ministry of Defence approaches innovation. We recognise that innovative companies, start-ups and non-traditional defence suppliers have long faced significant barriers when engaging with defence innovation programmes.

UKDI will invest in frameworks and initiatives to foster business growth and attract increased investment into SMEs, start-ups, and non-traditional defence suppliers. This approach aims to cultivate a diverse and agile supply chain, ensuring the delivery of cutting-edge capabilities to support national security and defence. Simultaneously, these efforts will align with the UKDI's strategic objectives of advancing the technology sector and driving economic growth.

UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) represents a fundamental transformation of how the Ministry of Defence approaches innovation. We recognise that innovative companies, start-ups and non-traditional defence suppliers have long faced significant barriers when engaging with defence innovation programmes.

UKDI will invest in frameworks and initiatives to foster business growth and attract increased investment into SMEs, start-ups, and non-traditional defence suppliers. This approach aims to cultivate a diverse and agile supply chain, ensuring the delivery of cutting-edge capabilities to support national security and defence. Simultaneously, these efforts will align with the UKDI's strategic objectives of advancing the technology sector and driving economic growth.

As this work is still in its early stages, a definitive timeline cannot be confirmed at this time.

The targeted sprint on autonomous systems has already begun, with the initial sprint stage due to conclude in November 2025.

Defence will not tolerate domestic abuse in any form and will respond to any formal allegations and take necessary action against perpetrators. Addressing domestic abuse is a ministerial priority and a shared responsibility for defence leaders, and providing support and care to victims and survivors is a priority for me and those in Defence tasked with tackling this issue.

Our efforts to combat domestic abuse include a robust, consistent and persistent response, informed staff, and the fostering of an open and understanding culture, where support is offered and seeking support is encouraged. We aim to create a culture where every person feels empowered to report instances that are perpetrated against or by Defence personnel, regardless of seniority or position.

The Ministry of Defence Domestic Abuse Action Plan 2024-2029 was formally published in March 2024 and details key actions Defence is taking to tackle domestic abuse. These include how we will prevent, intervene, and partner to support those affected and ensure perpetrators are held accountable.

For victims and survivors, we not only offer practical and emotional support from our own welfare organisations and the Victim Witness Care Unit, but we also partner with external specialists such as Aurora New Dawn and Mankind. Both of these organisations receive funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and provide support to Armed Forces personnel and their families.

Our efforts also include Raising Our Standards (ROS), which exists improve culture and tackle all unacceptable behaviours, which includes initiatives that are preventative in nature.

Defence is committed to playing our part in this government’s commitment to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a decade, and we are taking a public health approach to addressing VAWG. This means taking a preventative approach to tackle the drivers of offending, whilst expanding victim support and ensuring swift and certain enforcement after an incident takes place. Other work underway through ROS also includes a King’s Counsel Review of Defence Zero Tolerance policies, a tri-Service complaints unit removing complaints from the single Service chain of command for the first time and funding for a new military appraisal system.

Integrated Air and Missile Defence investments will be prioritised appropriately against the threat as part of the future Integrated Force. Work to deliver the Strategic Defence Review recommendations, including on homeland Integrated Air and Missile Defence, will be set out in the Defence Investment Plan to be published this year.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to ensuring the highest standards of training and welfare across all its establishments, including the Britannia Royal Naval College, which was rated GOOD following Ofsted’s most recent inspection.

The Royal Navy has reflected on the recommendations made by Ofsted following their inspection of Britannia Royal Naval College, and continues to invest in all areas recommended by the Ofsted report. This continues to make Britannia Royal Naval College a safe place for living, studying and working.

This has included: enhancing staff training and support; the renovation and refurbishment of trainee accommodation and facilities; and establishing processes to better identify learning needs and introduce the tailored support needed so that all trainees have an equal opportunity to learn.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to ensuring the highest standards of training and welfare across all its establishments, including HMNB Clyde which was rated GOOD following Ofsted’s most recent inspection.

The Royal Navy has reflected on the recommendations made by Ofsted following their inspection of HMNB Clyde and continues to implement improvements as recommended by the Ofsted report. This continues to make HMNB Clyde a safe place for living, studying and working.

This has included: implementing new governance structures for learning, as well as care and welfare, and the continued renovation and refurbishment of trainee accommodation and facilities, complementing the wider works to improve HMNB Clyde.