Strategic Defence Review: Reaction

Homeland June 12, 2025

The UK government’s Strategic Defence Review 2025 lays out a bold, future-focused vision for national security in an increasingly volatile global environment. In this article we look at response and reaction from across industry to the plan:

Engineering services and nuclear company AtkinsRéalis has welcomed the release of the Strategic Defence Review. David Clark, AtkinsRéalis Market Director – Defence & Aerospace, UK & Ireland, said: “The Strategic Defence Review represents a turning point, not just for national security, but for the UK economy. Defence investment has always been a driver for industry growth, regional development, and high-value jobs, but this review puts the sector at the heart of the economy.

“The commitment to build up to 12 SSN-AUKUS submarines and modernise supporting infrastructure is both a long-term military plan and a long-term industrial strategy. An expanded submarine enterprise, underpinned by AUKUS, will strengthen our sovereign capability, exports, and partnerships with allies.

“Crucially, this review invests in people. Significant new funding for the defence estate and cyber, with the establishment of CyberEM Command, will help to attract, develop and retain the talent our armed forces need.

To deliver on this ambitious review, government and industry must now work in lockstep to accelerate procurement and unlock the full potential of the forthcoming Industrial Strategy.”

Andy Scott, managing director of defence at Turner & Townsend, comments: “The Strategic Defence Review reflects a clear commitment from government to build a modern defence industry capable of responding to an increasingly complex threat matrix.

“While much of the focus today has been on scaling up nuclear investment and capabilities through the AUKUS partnership, bolstering our national resilience will come down not just to armament capacity, but improving the infrastructure which underpins the UK’s forces.

“The prime minister highlighted in his speech the importance of people – the men and women behind our defences – and the confirmed £1.5Bn in funding for military housing will help support and continue to attract world-class talent. There is an opportunity to build on this with focussed private investment, which will be key to enhancing facilities and driving wider social benefits through the defence estate.

“Greater involvement of the private sector can support progress not only through additional investment, but also by introducing a culture of innovation, particularly from SMEs. While it is important to balance this with the security and reliability offered by established supply chains, the Defence Spending Review presents a clear opportunity. By advancing innovation and improving integration across the defence ecosystem, including digital platforms and appropriate delivery models, we can drive greater efficiency and enhance the UK’s long-term defence capabilities.

“The government has restated its aim of reaching three percent of GDP on defence spending. The industry must now ensure it is focusing not just on the amount of money to be spent, but crucially how it will be spent to get the best outcomes – to build a modern defence sector, shore up our national security, and contribute to economic growth.”

Patrick Porter, Professor of International Security and Strategy at the University of Birmingham, said: “What a difference an invasion makes. The UK Strategic Defence Review – focusing on rearmament, the defence of Europe and the defence-industrial base – marks a significant change from its predecessor, the Strategic Defence and Security Review of 2021.

“Before Russia’s re-invasion of Ukraine, the architects of Britain’s national security strategy emphasised the UK’s global posture, with an ‘Indo-Pacific tilt’ alongside a prioritised Europe, and a qualitative understanding of capability. In the words of the Defence Command Paper of the time, ‘Capability in the future will be less defined by numbers of people and platforms than by information-centric technologies, automation and a culture of innovation and experimentation.’

“Now, full-scale interstate war of iron, mass and firepower has returned, demonstrating the value of scale and sustainment of effort. Doubts about U.S. NATO commitments also make the question of European deterrence vital.

“But, reconfiguring our armed forces for an age of Iron will be capital-intensive, and the UK government indicates there is a ceiling for such investment. This makes it imperative to focus on coalitions and the division of labour with UK allies. And it requires time, making it important for the UK to avoid premature clashes outside Europe, its main theatre of concern.”

Andriy Dovbenko, Founder and Principal of UK-Ukraine TechExchange: “The Strategic Defence Review acknowledges the real threat posed by Russia – not just to Ukraine, but to all of Europe. In this new era of warfare, Ukraine has proven itself to be one of Europe’s strongest fighting forces, developing and deploying battle-proven technologies at an unprecedented pace for the last four years. With today’s efforts to truly revive Britain’s industrial base, there are several vital lessons we must take from the conflict. Firstly, world-leading defence innovation would not have happened in Ukraine without drastic changes to the procurement process, bringing technology startups and scaleups into the inner fold of the industry. Simply increasing UK defence spending without structural changes won’t work – Ukraine has shown that the democratisation and decentralisation of manufacturing and procurement are essential for agile warfare.

“It is also imperative now that the UK strengthens its collaborations with NATO and Ukrainian DefenceTech innovators to leverage collective capabilities and expertise. If the intelligence suggests that Russia could invade a NATO country in Eastern Europe in the next four years, we need world-class DefenceTech, and that’s undeniably coming from Ukraine. Britain must proactively seek opportunities to procure Ukraine-made, battlefield-tested technologies that have undergone continuous research and redevelopment to remain future-proof against Russian capabilities.”

Alan Thompson, Head of Government Affairs, Skyrora, commented: “The long-awaited Strategic Defence Review highlights the critical importance of national defence during these increasingly turbulent times of war and quickly changing geopolitics. We must not underestimate the role that sovereign launch capabilities will have in helping us achieve the next phase of defence in the UK. Establishing sovereign launch capabilities in the UK would create an additional access point for Europe and reduce our reliance on other countries, thereby minimising our exposure to risk. Having stronger satellite-based activities – such as intelligence gathering, secure communications, and reconnaissance – are key defence pillars that we must focus on and bolster in preparation for future conflicts that may arise.”

Tanya Suarez, Lead of Janus accelerator in partnership with DASA and CEO of IoT Tribe: “Where conflict around the world has brought into sharp focus the need for rapid modernisation of the UK’s armed forces, we’ve witnessed a steady rise in private funding for pioneering defence technologies, now at record highs. However, innovators have continued to hit the same wall when it comes to scaling and eventually deploying their solutions: the scarcity of procurement opportunities. Defence tech startups need a clear pathway from proof of value to adoption. The Government’s Strategic Defence Review represents a vital move towards removing those constraints from the MoD and unlocking the door to the technologies we already know will be key to European resilience. It also acknowledges the need for greater collaboration across the UK and NATO allies, ensuring we’re leveraging the best-in-class technologies from the whole of Europe and unlocking the defence dividend across NATO.”

Tristan Wood, founder and CEO of Livewire Digital, remarked: “We welcome the Government’s ambition for AI-driven warfare; however, it is essential to emphasise the importance of reliable, sovereign networks and system architectures built with network agility at their core. These must be capable of secure operation across both public and private networks. Without dedicated funding for UK-owned, cyber-resilient infrastructure and a coherent sovereign communications strategy, the envisioned benefits of accelerated decision-making and precision targeting will remain largely aspirational.

“The internet is now a weapon of war and if we cannot guarantee secure, low-latency connections for drones, satellites, and frontline units, those platforms become sitting ducks. Sovereign, agile networks must be treated as strategic assets on par with combat vehicles or weapons systems.

“We urge defence leaders to ring-fence a portion of the Digital Targeting Web budget for UK-controlled network technologies. Embedding secure-by-design connectivity into every AI-driven system is non-negotiable, and communications autonomy must be considered a core requirement. Delay this, and we risk deploying cutting-edge sensors and algorithms on networks that will collapse under combat conditions.”