Defence chiefs prepare for the future with fund for military innovation

THE Ministry of Defence is to ringfence £160million from its budget to develop innovative capabilities, the Government will announce today.

Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, will use a speech to Parliament to conclude the long-awaited Defence Review, known as the Modernising Defence Programme (MDP). In what is billed as a final update, he will announce plans for a new team of specialists to analyse and map future threats, as well as a new fund worth up to £160million to tackle them.

There will also be a new series of programmes focused on harnessing cutting-edge technologies for a range of military issues, such as tackling threats to submarines and using artificial intelligence.

The Defence Secretary launched the MDP in January, stating it would not be “fiscally neutral”, a comment widely taken to mean he had secured additional funding for defence. Since then, the MOD has won a financial boost worth £1.8billion over two years to modernise key capability areas.

Mr Williamson will tell the Commons: “We can be proud of what we have achieved since 2015. But we must also be vigilant. National security challenges have become more complex, intertwined and dangerous since 2015, faster than we anticipated.

“Our adversaries and competitors are accelerating the development of new capabilities and strategies.

“We must keep pace and conceive of our joint force as consisting of five domains – air, land, sea, cyber and space – rather than the traditional three.”

The statement will also make clear that warnings throughout the year of military cuts were unfounded.

It had been feared the amphibious assault ships HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion were vulnerable. Their loss could have called into question the existence of the Royal Marines.

Speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, a Whitehall source said: “What is notable in this is that there have been no cuts to capabilities. The Defence Secretary is determined to make the case for additional funding in the Comprehensive Spending Review.”