The ‘away day’ meeting, which brought together ministers, senior civil servants, and the Chiefs of the British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, UK Strategic Command and Defence Intelligence, marks another waypoint in the MOD’s renewed focus on the Integrated Review.
The Integrated Review will define the Government’s ambition for the UK’s role in the world and the long-term strategic aims for national security and foreign policy. It will also set out the way in which the UK will be a problem-solving and burden-sharing nation and set a strong direction for recovery from COVID-19, at home and overseas.
The MOD is playing a central role in the review, ensuring that defence structures and capabilities evolve to remain relevant for a security environment characterised by constant competition between states and other hostile actors, and increasingly demanding proactivity and versatility from our Armed Forces.
The Defence Secretary said: “A post-Covid world will increase economic crisis, conflict and competition. The threats we face come in many forms across many continents. This week, I gathered together our service chiefs and MOD leadership at the Tower of London to discuss the form and capabilities we will need to deliver a modern, capable and strong Armed Forces ready to defend the United Kingdom in the decade to come.”
Military chiefs discussed tailoring the Armed Forces’ balance of capabilities, as well as how best to invest in people, skills, and equipment. The MOD is determined to spend ‘smarter,’ ensuring that procurement and infrastructure projects contribute to the UK’s economy in the most efficient and effective ways possible.
The MOD is fully committed to its part in supporting the successful delivery of the Government’s ambition for the Integrated Review. The Service Chiefs are critical to achieving that goal, and the meeting is just one of many ways in which their military expertise and experience will feed into the process.
The Integrated Review will run in parallel to the Comprehensive Spending Review so that departments are provided with the resources they need to enact the review’s conclusions.
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