The MOD’s backend operations are as critical as front-line capabilities in meeting the CGS’s ambitious goals. In the fiscal year 2022/23, the UK allocated $70 billion to defence, making it NATO’s second-largest spender. While one cannot compare apples with apples (UK Defence spending includes the nuclear deterrent and contributions to the Security and Intelligence Agencies, disparities remain stark. For instance, France’s armed forces comprise 203,000 personnel compared to the UK’s 150,000, while the British Army’s fleet of Challenger tanks is set to shrink from 227 to 148, compared to France’s 212 Leclerc tanks.

To address these challenges, the MOD must prioritise efficiency. This is not about cost cutting, it is about getting much more value out of what Defence has. Defence must ruthlessly explore opportunities to better integrate its platforms, barracks, training areas and frontline commands. Implementing a Single Information Environment (SInfoE) enables agencies like DE&S, Defence Digital and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation as well as Commanders, to draw on information held across Defence to make better and faster decisions.

For example, prior to the Kosovo conflict, MOD planners lacked basic data on which Land Rovers were equipped with specific communication systems and had to ask industry for that data. In the future, planners at the Joint Forces Headquarters (JFHQ) and Front-Line Commands must be able to query data in real time to determine the readiness, equipment, and training levels of units. While MJDI, JAMES and BMfS may deliver this, the data needs to be available across all staff functions and agencies that require it.

Workshops and units must also record all maintenance events to provide DE&S contract managers with accurate data on equipment availability and reliability. Tanks conducting training on Salisbury Plain should generate real-time data on fuel consumption and engine status via HUMS, enabling precise logistical planning.

Beyond internal processes, the MOD needs to transform its relationships with industry. Senior leaders, including successive Secretaries of State for Defence, have called for closer engagement with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), academia, and non-traditional suppliers to foster innovation. The MOD has expressed a clear intent to embrace emerging technologies, leveraging automation, augmentation, and robotic systems, often referred to collectively as artificial intelligence (AI).  AI represents a fast-evolving and innovative technology sector, increasingly driven by advancements from non-traditional defence suppliers. This is not solely the product of major IT platforms and their large language models. Instead, it is a dynamic space increasingly shaped by SMEs, start-ups, and academia. To fully harness the benefits of automation and augmentation, the MOD requires a fresh approach to engaging with industry; one that treats technology, particularly software, as a rapidly evolving consumable to be iterated upon and replaced rather than sustained long-term. This philosophy, akin to other principles of experimental warfare, demands ongoing dialogue with industry, enabling the MOD to buy in small quantities, test, and replace as needed.

AI will have a role, both in operations and in the back office, but, as explained when discussing the role of data in achieving an integrated force, this is heavily reliant on access to data, which is hampered by the current approach to procurement.

Shifting from network-centric to data-centric operations is essential to achieve this agility and ensure a greater proportion of the £28 billion equipment programme is spent on equipment delivery. This transition is further explored in Part 4: Breaking Down Barriers to Efficiency, where we discuss new approaches to data, procurement, and integration for a more effective Army.

Explore the Full Series: Achieving an Integrated Force  

This blog is part of our four-part series examining the British Army’s journey towards an integrated force. Discover how innovation in technology, AI, automation, and data integration is shaping the future of defence. If you haven’t explored the rest of the series, we encourage you to visit them and discover the full story behind the British Army’s transformation towards an Integrated Force:

1. Part 1: The role of data in achieving an Integrated Force

   How the British Army aims to triple its fighting power through data-driven solutions

2. Part 2: Embracing Emerging Technologies

   From goldfish bowls to oceans of innovation — enabling faster adoption of technology

3. Part 3: Revolutionising Defence Back-Office Operations

   Streamlining logistics, procurement, and readiness to meet modern challenges

4.  Part 4: Breaking Down Barriers to Efficiency

   A new approach to data, procurement, and integration for a more lethal Army