Ministry Of Defence
With permission I would like tomake a statement on the publication of our refreshed Defence Command Paper.
Its just over two years since we published the original command paper in March 2021.
Two years in which our security has been challenged in so many ways and this is the Defence response to a more contested and volatile world.
In the last four years that Ive been Defence Secretary, Ive been consistent about the reform I have sought to implement
I want Defence to bethreat-led, understanding and acting on the threats facing our nation as our sole-mission not protecting force structures, cap badges or much-loved equipment, but on making sure we are challenging the threats.
I want MOD to be a campaigning department adopting a more proactive posture, our forces more forward and present in the world, with a return to campaigning assertively and constantly.
Pushing back those threats and our adversaries. And I want Defence to besustainable in every sense. For toolongDefencewas hollowed-out by both Labour and Conservative Governments,that left our forcesoverstretched and under-equipped.
But we must match our ambitions to our resources, our equipment plans to our budget and take care of our people to sustain them in their duties.
We must never forget the travesty that was snatch Land Rovers in Afghanistan.
The 2021 Defence Command Paper was true to those principles and with some tough choices presented an honest plan for what we can and will do.
A credible force capable of protecting the nation, ready to meet the threats of today but also investing heavily to modernise those of the future.
A force in which every major platform would be renewed by 2035, from armoured vehicles to Dreadnought submarines, frigates to satellites. And we did not plan on issuing a new Command Paper just two years on.
Many of theconclusions of that Command Paperremainright Russiawas and isthe greatest threat to European security. Chinas rapid military modernisation and growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and beyond do pose an increasing challenge to us all.
But I have always said as the situation changes, we must change with it. And since the first DCP was released, the world hasshifted once more-from a competitiveageto a contestedand volatile world.?
Thetechnology advances wepredicted materialised. The threatsand challenges we feared havemanifested. And thereis no more immediate threat than Russia.
Its full-scale invasion of Ukraine wasnot simplyan assault on a proudandsovereign nation. It was anattackon allourvalues, on European security, and theopen international order on which stability and prosperity havedependedfor over three quarters of a century.
Today right now, the people of Ukraine are suffering the tragic consequences of President Putins illegal, unprovoked invasion; his naked aggression and imperial ambitions played out in a tragedy of epic human suffering.
The brave citizens and soldiers of the armed forces of Ukraine are protecting their own nation and people, quite heroically, taking on the once mighty Russian forces. And the whole House recognises that they fight not just for their freedom, but for ours.
They are not just liberating their homeland but defending the rules-based system. As Defence Secretary, to import the lessons learnt from this conflict to our own forces is important. And while I wish such lessons were generated in a different way this conflict has become an incubator of new ways of war.
They are proving the way for warfare in the 2020s. Which is a whole-of-nation, internationally partnered, innovative, digitised and operating with a tempo, precision and range requirement. And a recognition that there is a trade-off between assurance levels and operational impact.
Im proud too of the role the UKisplayingin supporting Ukraine. Whetherprovidingequipment, training or political support. Or galvanisingEuropean andinternational allies and industrialpartners to do likewise.
But thereturn of war to the continent of Europe alongsidegrowing threats elsewhere in the world has meant we must sharpen ourapproach.
The Integrated Review Refresh, published in March of this year outlined how we would do this. It would shape the global strategic environment; increase our focus on deterrence and defence; address vulnerabilities that leave our nations exposed; and investin the UKs unique strengths.
Defenceis central toall of theseefforts.Which is why, after three decadesof which all parties have continued drawingthepost-covid warpeace dividend thisPrime Ministerreversed that trend and provided Defence an extra24billion over4years.
He and the Chancellor have gone further in response to the war in Ukraine. Next year, we will spend over 50 billion on defence for the first-time in our history. That is nearly a 12 billion of cash investment a year higher than 2019 when I started.
Thats more than 10% increase in real terms. And this government has committed to increase spending yet further over the longer-term of 2.5% of GDP as we improve the fiscal position and grow our economy.
Because our Defence plans and the Armed Forces to deliver them must be robust and credible, not fantasy force designs, not unfunded gimmicks and not top trump numbers.
As Russia has so effectively proven, there is no point in having parade ground Armies, mass ranks of men and machines if they cannot be integrated as a single full spectrum force, sustained in the field under all demands of modern warfighting.
That takes professional forces, well-equipped and rapidly adaptable, supported by critical enablers and vast stockpiles of munitions. And that is why in this document you wont find a shiny new announcement, comms-led policy driving, unsustainable force designs or any major new platforms for military enthusiasts to put up on their charts of their bedroom wall.
We stand by the Command Paper that we published in 2021 but we must get there faster, doing defence differently and getting ourselves onto a campaign footing to protect the nation and help it prosper.
As I said, standing here when DCP21 was announced, we owe it to the men and women of our Armed Forces to make policy reality and the work was just beginning. So in this refresh we are focusedon how to drive the lessons of Ukraine intoour core business on how to recover the warfighting resilience needed to generatecredible conventionaldeterrence.
And thegreat advantageof having served in Defence for some time is that my ministerial team and I have taken a proper look under the bonnet. Consequently, we are clear that our strategic advantage derives fromfour keysourceswhich require urgent prioritisation.
First andforemostour first-class people. Our men and women are not just brave and committed but talented and incredibly skilled. They are our real battle-winning capability and it is our duty to ensure that they are well supported, prepared and equipped as possible. So we are going to invest in them.
Last year Icommissioned Richard Haythornthwaite to conduct the first review of workforceincentivisation for almost thirty years. Its such good work that we are incorporating the response into our Command Paper. And today I amunveiling a new employment model and skills framework for our Armed Forces.
It will offer our people aSpectrum of Service that allows far greater career flexibility. Making it easier for military personnel to zig-zag betweendifferent roles whether regular or reserve or between the Civil Service and industry.
We are transforming our forces overall employment offerby adoptinga Total Reward Approach to provide a more compelling and competitive incentive package.
And, since all our Armed Forces personnel deserve the best quality accommodation, we are injecting a further 400 million to improve our service accommodation in the next two years.
Many of us over Christmas would have been frustrated by the poor support our service personnel and the families received from those tasked with looking after their accommodation. It is for that reason I withheld their profit and used the money to freeze for one year only the rent increases our personnel were due to pay.
Taken together alongside such initiatives as wrap-around childcare they are intended to enrich careers and enhance theability of our most talented people to keep protecting the Britishpeople and to ensure they are rewarded and fulfilled while they do so.
Our second priorityis further strengthening our scientific and technological base. We arealready world leaders in specific area. Butto continue outmatching our adversaries we must stay ahead of the curve in digital, in data, and in emerging scientific fields.In 2021 we said we would invest 6.6 billion inadvancedResearch and Development.
In fact, we are now investingsignificantly more to stay ahead in the technologies proving themselves vital on the battlefields of Ukraine, such as AI, quantum and robotics.
And we are enabling a culture of innovation across Defence, pulling through those R&D breakthroughs to the front-line. Following in Ukraines footsteps, we are increasing sourcing those 100 solutions that can stop 100 million threats in their track. Winning both the kinetic and economic exchange of modern warfare.
Of course, our ability to do that depends on the quality of our relationship with the industry, which is our third priority.
Im pushing the MODto form acloser alliance with our industrial partners -a genuine partnership to sustain our defence will mean doing things d