The Ministry of Defence (MoD) finally published its long-promised strategy on UK plans to be “a world leader in defence uncrewed systems’ and to say its underwhelming would be an understatement. The document – stripping out graphics, self-promotional photographs and the glossary – runs to around four pages, much of which is filled with management speak that would make David Brent wince. Apparently, through “Pan-Defence Excellence” the MoD will be “enshrining the principle of iterative – or spiral – capability development” to create a more “predictable demand signal.”
In a nutshell, the (ahem) ‘strategy’ seems to be: ‘learning from the war in Ukraine we will work even closer with the defence industry’. The Minister for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge and the Commander of Strategic Command, General Sir Jim Hockenhull announced the strategy at a press event at Malloy Systems, the drone company recently taken over by BAE Systems.
The strategy document contains no details about timescales, programmes, spending or even categories of uncrewed systems that the MoD will be focusing on. The closest the document comes to any information on future plans is a bullet point that says “the RAF is testing cost-effective expendable Autonomous Collaborative Platforms.” Another bullet point argues that “the army has a long history of uncrewed systems and development.” Pretty sure someone should have at least added the word ‘chequered’ in there.
Sifting through this thin gruel we can pick out one or two points.
- In his Introduction, Minister for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge argues “it is in the uncrewed space that we will increasingly drive the mass of our forces…” Drones, in other words, are seen as a way of increasing the size and lethality of UK armed forces as personnel recruitment slumps and spending on big-ticket items eats up the budget.
- There is a recognition that drone warfare is “not only here to stay but likely to increase as technology expands opportunities for [drone] employment.” This is due to the fact, argues the document, that “inexpensive commercial and military technologies have democratised [drone] employment.” Drone warfare, it is acknowledged, is no longer the preserve of larger Western states.
- The strategy suggests that the “initial priority is the successful delivery of the Ukraine-UK uncrewed systems initiative.” Given that the current use of drones in this conflict is primarily small, first person view (FPV) drones or one-way attack drones, it is likely that funding of new UK developments will be in this area. Whether that will be effective for UK security needs is questionable to say the least.
- The decline in transparency and debate about the development, use, legality and efficacy of drone warfare from the government is likely to continue. While, the document pays lip-service to “the importance of public engagement” on these issues and insists it is “committed … to keeping the public informed of our progress and developments” these lofty aims are caveated with need to protect “necessary operational sensitivity” and the requirement to “balance transparency with security.”
All in all, it is likely this strategy document will be put on a shelf and quickly forgotten.