Defence Programme Manager Jeremy Wimble looks back at the changes to UK Defence in 2025.
Of the many accusations that could be levelled at the Ministry of Defence, underselling the scale of change witnessed in 2025 is not one of them.
Implementation of Defence Reform in April, the publications of the Strategic Defence Review and Defence Industrial Strategy in June and September, and the Defence Investment Plan, expected in the new year. Each immediately prompting the wait for the next and variously described as the ‘biggest’ or ‘most profound’ change to defence for 50 or even 150 years.
Here is techUK’s round-up of defence in 2025 and what to expect in 2026.
Defence Reform, the QUAD and the NAD
Announced in February and operational from April, Defence Reform created the so-called ‘Quad’ management structure: the Permanent Under Secretary as head of the Department of State (DOS), the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as head of the Military Strategic HQ (MSHQ), the Chief of Defence Nuclear (CDN), and a new 4* National Armaments Director overseeing the National Armaments Director Group (NADG).
The NADG brought together the MOD’s enabling organisations of Defence Digital, DE&S, Dstl, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA), with the responsibility for ‘developing, supporting and delivering the UK’s ‘national arsenal’.
The role of the NADG is extensive, and it has been tasked with setting Defence’s industrial strategy, overseeing all acquisition processes, as well as leading on exports and international partnerships, including taking ownership of defence exports from the Department of Business & Trade (DBT).
The NADG will work with the newly created the MSHQ to define capability problem statements (rather than setting requirements) to take to industry and provide the MSHQ with a series of fully costed options within a defined budget envelope This represents a marked shift from Front-Line Commands (FLCs) setting requirements themselves before going to market and is in some sense a reversion to a more centralised operating model as was the case pre the Levene reforms of 2011.
After a recruitment process significantly longer than intended, Rupert Pearce was appointed as the new 4* National Armaments Director in October.
Now underway is the transition from the previous division of responsibilities across the enabling organisations, to a cross-NADG portfolio approach, grouping together 13 capabilities based on matching domains or technologies under individual single 2* Portfolio Directors. The 13 individual portfolios will then be divided between an as-yet undetermined number of category groups sitting above. What this means for the continued existence of the MOD’s enabling organisations within the NADG is unclear.
Defence Industrial Joint Council
In June the successor to the Defence Suppliers Forum, the Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC) met for the first time. The DIJC is the primary forum for strategic engagement between the MOD and industry and techUK CEO Julian David sits alongside members 2iC, Helsing, Palantir, Airbus, BAE Systems, Babcock, Qinetiq and Airbus on the top-level Council.
The first DIJC Task and Finish Group supported by techUK is looking at how the MOD can achieve rapid commercial exploitation with commercially developed capabilities and will present a series of recommendations to the Council in early 2026.
Described by Defence Secretary John Healey as the plan to make the UK ‘a leading tech-enabled Defence power, with an Integrated Force that deters, fights and wins through constant innovation at wartime pace’, the MOD accepted all 62 of the SDR’s recommendations.
Some of the most significant recommendations so far enacted include:
Strategic Command renamed as Cyber & Specialist Operations Command (CSOC). Sitting alongside the Front-Line Commands within MSHQ the name change reflects its continuing role with UK Special Forces and the Integrated Warfare Centre, as well as enhanced responsibilities for the cyber domain with creation of the new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command. Under 2* leadership, CyberEM Command is intended to create a single defence customer for the National Cyber Force.
The creation of a Digital Targeting Web (DTW), a system of systems that will connect sensors, deciders and effectors from platforms and warfighters across all domains. In July techUK hosted the first industry briefing on what this will look like in practice and the proposed route to market. The programme will be led by CSOC and delivered by the NADG with the plan to reach Initial Operating Capacity by April 2026.
Defence Industrial Strategy
If the SDR was the what-MOD-must-do then the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) was intended as the how-MOD-will-do-it.
For techUK members, the priorities they wanted to see addressed were the MOD acting an intelligent and reliable customer; coordination with the rest of Government in its approach to technologies; and the streamlining of the overly complex defence innovation ecosystem. Read the full techUK submission to the DIS.
The DIS outlined a series of new commitments, which include increasing access of affordable Test and Evaluation series (currently under review), targeted investment to address the tech skills shortages facing defence, and the increased use of AI and automation tools to ‘reduce costs and drive productivity and pace’.
Originally announced in the Spring Statement, the DIS also confirmed the MOD’s new ‘segmented’ 3-tier approach to procurement:
Strategic long-term programmes (major platforms & equipment) within two years
Pace-setting upgrades from three years to one year (including communications and sensors)
Rapid commercial innovation (such as software) to contract in three-month cycles
UK Defence Innovation
Sitting within the new NADG and with a ringfenced annual budget of £400mn, UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) is intended to dramatically simplify the innovation landscape in UK Defence.
It brings together previously separate innovation organisations including the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), J-Hub, the Defence Innovation Unit, and Future Capability Innovation (formerly within DE&S). FLC innovation units will remain in existence, but their work will be directed and financially resourced by UKDI.
UKDI will also enhance the MOD’s regional engagement, building on the previous work of DASA Outreach and FLC Innovation Scouts. Regional Innovation Managers will lead teams of tech scouts and others responsible for acting a single point of contact for MOD SME services, as well as driving industry and academic interaction. Finally, a ‘Rapid Innovation Team’ will focus on the delivery of dual-use capabilities, working at a ‘wartime pace’.
techUK has long argued that the fragmented nature of MOD’s existing innovation ecosystem has led to a disjointed and inefficient approach to the development and acquisition of new technologies. With the creation of clearer lines of command – both horizontally, with problem setting between MSHQ and UKDI, and vertically from UKDI down to FLC innovation units - the dangers of duplication should be avoided.
SMEs
Both the SDR and DIS went to considerable lengths to stress the importance of small and medium sized businesses in driving innovation within Defence. The DIS confirmed the creation of a Defence Office for Small Business Growth (DOSBG), which will provide SMEs with a clear path to accessing opportunities and ultimately winning contracts, as well as provide regulatory guidance and support. DOSBG will reach Initial Operating Capacity in January.
The DOSBG announcement was accompanied by a commitment to increase the MOD’s SME direct and indirect spending targets, up to £7.5bn by 2028, up by £2.5bn on 2023 levels.
Defence Select Committee
As well as submissions to the multiple MOD reviews, this year, techUK was invited to give evidence to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee for two of its Inquiries.
In March, CEO Julian David discussed how to address the UK’s Defence digital skills gap as well as the problems companies are still facing when it comes to accessing basic financial services, in relation to the UK’s contribution to European security. Watch his appearance.
Then in October, COO Matt Evans gave evidence on AUKUS, sharing techUK’s view of progress on Pillar 2 of the trilateral partnership, as a member of the Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum (ACIF). Read our written submission to the Committee.
Defence Cyber Certification
Aimed at improving cyber resilience within the defence supply chain, the MOD announced the creation of the Defence Cyber Certification (DCC), a new cyber security framework designed for UK Defence suppliers based around Cyber Essentials Plus. This replaces the previous accreditations model. For more information including the different levels of certification, techUK published this on our website.
What comes next
With the ‘What’ and the ‘How’ answered with the SDR and DIS respectively, the ‘With’ of the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) - originally promised in the Autumn - will be the focus of attention in the new year. The DIP replaces what was the Defence Equipment Plan (last published in 2023) and will set out the allocation of financial resources for existing programmes of record (such as numbers of F-35s) and investments in new technologies.
The MOD will also publish a revised Digital - and now - Data Strategy for Defence, expected in the Spring. In part shaped by techUK members at an exclusive workshop in November, the strategy will shape and steer the direction of the MOD’s digital priorities.
Given the number of changes over the past year and the time since the last Command Paper in 2023, it is also possible that we might see one looking at the next stages of Defence Reform.
It is no secret that the MOD must find substantial efficiency savings and that current vacancies will remain unfilled. For techUK, the MOD must ensure that those efficiencies do not simply exacerbate problems members already face with delays to contracting and struggles for payment.
As with the effect of a military’s plans on first contact on the enemy, we will also see how the changes to procurement processes, from problem setting to delivery, will survive their first programmes of record.
techUK’s Defence programme will continue to deliver a programme of regular private briefings and policy engagement for its members in 2026. For more on the work of the programme, please contact Jeremy Wimble.
Fred Sugden
Associate Director, Defence and National Security, techUK
Fred Sugden
Associate Director, Defence and National Security, techUK
Fred is responsible for techUK's activities across the Defence and National Security sectors, working to provide members with access to key stakeholders across the Defence and National Security community. Before taking on the role of Associate Director for Defence and National Security, Fred joined techUK in 2018, working as the Programme Head for Defence at techUK, leading the organisation's engagement with the Ministry of Defence. Before joining techUK, he worked at ADS, the national trade association representing Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space companies in the UK.
Fred is responsible for techUK’s market engagement and policy development activities across the Defence and National Security sectors, working closely with various organisations within the Ministry of Defence, and across the wider National Security and Intelligence community. Fred works closely with many techUK member companies that have an interest in these sectors, and is responsible for the activities of techUK's senior Defence & Security Board. Working closely with techUK's Programme Head for Cyber Security, Fred oversees a broad range of activities for techUK members.
Outside of work, Fred's interests include football (a Watford FC fan) and skiing.
Jeremy manages techUK's defence programme, helping the UK's defence technology sector align itself with the Ministry of Defence - including the National Armaments Directorate (NAD), UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) and Frontline Commands - through a broad range of activities including policy consultation, private briefings and early market engagement. The Programme supports the MOD as it procures new digital technologies.
Prior to joining techUK, from 2016-2024 Jeremy was International Security Programme Manager at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) coordinating research and impact activities for funders including the FCDO and US Department of Defense, as well as business development and strategy.
Jeremy has a MA in International Relations from the University of Birmingham and a BA (Hons) in Politics & Social Policy from Swansea University.
The Defence programme works to help the UK’s defence technology sector align itself with the MOD. techUK members are able to navigate and better understand the UK Defence sector to successfully align their own investment and resources to take advantage of business opportunities. Visit the programme page here.
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Associate Director, Defence and National Security, techUK
Fred is responsible for techUK's activities across the Defence and National Security sectors, working to provide members with access to key stakeholders across the Defence and National Security community. Before taking on the role of Associate Director for Defence and National Security, Fred joined techUK in 2018, working as the Programme Head for Defence at techUK, leading the organisation's engagement with the Ministry of Defence. Before joining techUK, he worked at ADS, the national trade association representing Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space companies in the UK.
Fred is responsible for techUK’s market engagement and policy development activities across the Defence and National Security sectors, working closely with various organisations within the Ministry of Defence, and across the wider National Security and Intelligence community. Fred works closely with many techUK member companies that have an interest in these sectors, and is responsible for the activities of techUK's senior Defence & Security Board. Working closely with techUK's Programme Head for Cyber Security, Fred oversees a broad range of activities for techUK members.
Outside of work, Fred's interests include football (a Watford FC fan) and skiing.
Jeremy manages techUK's defence programme, helping the UK's defence technology sector align itself with the Ministry of Defence - including the National Armaments Directorate (NAD), UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) and Frontline Commands - through a broad range of activities including policy consultation, private briefings and early market engagement. The Programme supports the MOD as it procures new digital technologies.
Prior to joining techUK, from 2016-2024 Jeremy was International Security Programme Manager at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) coordinating research and impact activities for funders including the FCDO and US Department of Defense, as well as business development and strategy.
Jeremy has a MA in International Relations from the University of Birmingham and a BA (Hons) in Politics & Social Policy from Swansea University.
