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The author is a Labour MP from Plymouth Moorview and sits on the House Defense Committee
It appears that Britain cannot modernize its military. Even while arming Ukraine with the latest combat techniques, our own soldiers are forced to train as they did in the early 2000s.
There are no first-person view (FPV) drones for them. It is now ubiquitous on the battlefield. Nor were there any non-white believer’s surface ships (USVs) that changed the battle in naval battles when they defeated the Russian Black Sea Fleet in 2023.
The Ministry of Defense celebrates trials on these capabilities, but I am told by my former colleague that we are serving as far away from arming with them.
When the UK lags behind, fingers are often pointed to inefficiencies in raising, over-budget growth, or lack of funding options for start-ups and small businesses. These are real issues, but they are not the main issues. The more I see it, the more I believe that the deeper challenge of mods is adoption.
This refers to the magical moment when new military capabilities become a recognized requirement and land on long-term budget lines. Until that happens, the military will not train with it, nor will it update its tactics and doctrines to include it. It is not permitted in the UK training sector.
Recruitment means that anyone who creates this new technology is paid. Furthermore, it is the moment when private capital began paying attention as he saw private capital secured direct contracts with the government. It’s a green light that invests in other companies. Because they know they now have real customers.
MOD has spent £35 million on FPV drones since July 2024. So, obviously, FPV drones are needed in the war. However, all of these drones were sent to Ukraine, and no one went to our own army.
With the debate of “reliable deterrence,” a coalition of willing peacekeeping boots on earth, it’s hard to guess why this is the case.
Change doesn’t just require money. it’s necessary. And now there is a deep cultural and structural resistance that changes within mods. This inertia prevents new technologies from being adopted.
There are countless technical limitations, ranging from holding the hands of aviation authorities on drone training to commercial competition rules for civil servants. As one CEO told the Defense Committee, “Mods understand the equipment they want to fight war. They are restricted from purchasing that equipment. They are proactively restricting their solutions.”
This requires the alarm bell to ring.
But supporting it all is a serious risk aversion culture of mods. Interests are defensive and no one wants to be blamed for errors. However, new technologies need room for failure, and as a result, they need to adapt and improve.
The US Defense Innovation Unit has moved technology from Silicon Valley to long-term defense contracts, expanding new generation of defense giants like Andrill, Parantil and Shield AI.
The good news is that the UK is already purchasing and developing the latest defence technology. Beyond FPV drones and USVs, I purchased many advanced robotics, intelligence collection platforms, electronic warfare equipment and Reutering ammunition.
Monday’s Strategic Defence Review is poised to address many of the longstanding challenges in UK defense. The Minister has promised a clear answer on how the UK will face the new threats we face, along with a new focus on expected procurement reforms and preparations.
Similarly, the government’s new defense and security partnership with the EU will send many promising signals. This includes the potential of a global defense bank where the country pools resources and promotes defense funding.
This is very welcome. However, unless mods fix the breakdown in recruitment culture, the amount of defense funding will not lead the British military into the future.
If you are serious about modernizing the British military, you will need mods that employ new technology. We need to be willing to pay for new technologies and quickly improve in case of failure. The days when we sit and wait for the industry to offer are gone.
All service representatives know that we have to modernize. The Royal Marines, the organization I grew up in, recently announced they wanted to train all recruits to fly FPV drones. It falls into ministries, civil servants and ministers to unlock the door they are pushing.
Defense facilities must provide world-class technology to train world-class technology. Future funding and innovation continues. But it starts with a culture that says yes to change.
