Defence Tech and the Strategic Defence Review

This afternoon, the Defence Secretary John Healey presented the 62 recommendations of the Strategic Defence Review - all of which the government accepts -, with the promise that the UK would be ‘a leading tech-enabled Defence power, with an Integrated Force that deters, fights and wins through constant innovation at wartime pace’ by 2035. The SDR enables the UK to ‘learn the lessons from Ukraine and seize the defence dividend’.

Following a string of announcements over the past six months, including Defence Reform’s management restructuring and new support for SMEs (the full context of today’s news here), this is an initial look at what the SDR means for techUK members and the UK’s digital and technology industries:

The Ministry of Defence will establish a Cyber and Electromagnetic Command sitting under UK Strategic Command. It will act as a ‘hub…integrating the full range of military operations and bringing coherence to how Defence understands, develops, and accesses capability with allies and industry’, including demand setting, ‘acting as a single Defence customer’ for the National Cyber Force.

Shifting to ‘warfighting readiness’, the MOD will implement an Integrated Force Model, putting ‘digital enablement at its core’. This means a ‘common digital foundation of data, synthetic environments, and networks’ bringing together people and platforms across all domains including allies.

Central to its delivery will be a Digital Targeting Web - with a budget of £1bn operational by 2027 - to exploit developments in Artificial Intelligence and software, to enabling greater integration across domains, platforms and weapons systems. Such a capability will require a Defence-wide Cloud service at SECRET, with MVP status expected next year. The MOD will report to the Defence Secretary by July next year on the assurance of critical data flows.

UK Defence Innovation, initially announced by the Chancellor in the Spring Statement, will be one of two new organisations sitting under the National Armaments Directorate with a ringfenced budget of £400mn. UKDI will be ‘the mechanism by which Defence quickly finds and then buys innovative commercial products and services…connecting external innovation with defence procurement’. It will sit alongside a Defence Research and Evaluation Office (focused on early-stage innovation), ‘as an evolution of the current Dstl and Defence Science and Technology teams’ reaching out to research institutes. Together they will work with the wider MOD and Chief Scientific Advisor to set targets on technological pull-through and scaling, reporting quarterly to the Defence Secretary.

On acquisition reform, the SDR confirms the plans announced in the Spring Statement for the MOD’s ‘segmented’ 3-tier approach to procurement, with each their own timelines:

techUK has long argued that beyond the policy, fundamental to rapid adoption is mindset. The SDR argues the MOD should embed a culture of ‘constant innovation’, targeting an annual 10 percent shift in budget from current to next-generation capabilities within enterprise digital platforms and services.

Recognising the practical challenges experienced by techUK members of working in defence, by next year the MOD should set out a dedicated financial services strategy including establishing a Defence Investors Advisory Group to attract new funding to the sector.

The SDR will now be followed by a Defence Investment Plan due in the Autumn (replacing the previous Defence Equipment Plans that typically followed a review), to set out how the MOD will deliver the SDR’s vision in practice.

Defence will also feature heavily in the Spending Review due on Wednesday 11 June followed by the Government’s Industrial Strategy expected a day later.

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Meet the team

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.

Email:: [email protected]
Phone:: 07985 234 170

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Francesca Richiusa

Programme Team Assistant for Public Sector Markets, techUK

Fran serves as the Programme Team Assistant within techUK’s Public Sector Market Programmes, where she is responsible for delivering comprehensive team support, managing administrative functions, and fostering strong relationships with members.

Prior to joining techUK in May 2025, Fran built a meaningful career in the charitable and local government sectors. She worked extensively with both victims and perpetrators of crime, and notably led the coordination of Domestic Homicide Reviews across Surrey—an initiative aimed at identifying lessons and preventing future incidents of domestic abuse.

Outside of work, Fran is an avid traveller and a proud cat mum who enjoys unwinding with her feline companions.

Email:: [email protected]
Website:: www.techuk.org/
LinkedIn:: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesca-richiusa/

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Jeremy Wimble

Programme Manager, Defence, techUK

Jeremy manages techUK's defence programme, helping the UK's defence technology sector align itself with the Ministry of Defence - including Defence Digital, DE&S, innovation units and Frontline Commands - through a broad range of activities including private briefings and early market engagement events. It also 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.

Email:: [email protected]

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Tracy Modha

Programme Marketing Assistant for Public Sector Markets, techUK

Tracy supports the marketing of several areas at techUK, including Cyber Exchange, Central Government, Cyber Resilience, Defence, Education, Health and Social Care, Justice and Emergency Services, Local Public Services, Nations and Regions and National Security.

Tracy joined techUK in March 2022, having worked in the education sector for 19 years, covering administration, research project support, IT support and event/training support. My most outstanding achievement has been running three very successful international conferences and over 300 training courses booked all over the globe!

Tracy has a great interest in tech. Gaming and computing have been a big part of her life, and now electric cars are an exciting look at the future. She has warmed to Alexa, even though it can sometimes be sassy!

Email:: [email protected]
Phone:: 02073312000
Website:: www.techuk.org
LinkedIn:: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracymodha83

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Defence Tech and the Strategic Defence Review

Jeremy Wimble