The United Kingdom Armed Forces wants to apply lessons learned from Ukraine and will spend more than £1 billion ($1.35 billion) to equip a “pioneering battlefield system.” A new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command will further enhance the UK’s cyber warfare capabilities.
Defence Secretary John Healey announced a new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command and investments of over £1 billion in a new “Digital Targeting Web” (DTW) to increase the effectiveness of battlefield decisions.
The new command will help put the UK at the forefront of cyber operations as part of the Strategic Defence Review.
The DTW will “better connect Armed Forces weapons systems and allow battlefield decisions for targeting enemy threats to be made and executed faster,” the UK’s Ministry of Defense said in a press release.
The announcement follows the Prime Minister’s commitment to increase defence spending up to 2.5% of GDP.
The new capabilities are expected to improve integration across domains with new AI, software, and better communication.
“As an example, a threat could be identified by a sensor on a ship or in space before being disabled by an F-35 aircraft, drone, or offensive cyber operation,” the press release reads.
UK military networks suffered more than 90,000 “sub-threshold” attacks in the last two years, and the new Command will lead defensive cyber operations and coordinate offensive cyber capabilities.
Harnessing expertise in electromagnetic warfare, the Command will also help Armed Forces seize and hold the initiative on the battlefield through degrading command and control, jamming signals to drones or missiles, and intercepting an adversary’s communications.
“The hard-fought lessons from Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine leave us under no illusions that future conflicts will be won through forces that are better connected, better equipped, and innovating faster than their adversaries,” Defence Secretary John Healey MP said.
The Command will offer many new career opportunities, and the Cyber Direct Entry program for accelerated training focused on essential cyberspace operational skills. The offer includes starting salaries exceeding £40,000, with up to £25,000 in additional skills pay.
“By attracting the best digital talent, and establishing a nerve centre for our cyber capability, we will harness the latest innovations, properly fund Britain’s defences for the modern age and support the government’s Plan for Change,” Healey said.
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