Reporter: Stuart Littleford
The head of the Armed Forces will issue a rallying cry this evening to the nation to build Britain’s resilience in the face of growing threats and uncertainty.
The Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Richard Knighton will set out how a whole-nation response is needed in a more volatile and uncertain world.
In a speech setting out his priorities of readiness, people and transformation, he will talk about the need to increase the nation’s resilience in the face of increasing threats. Far from being an issue just for defence, he will detail how the long-term success of the armed forces relies on reconnecting with society: making Defence and resilience part of the national conversation and “a higher national priority for all of us”.
Discussing the threats we face, GPSJ understands he will say:
“The situation is more dangerous than I have known during my career and the response requires more than simply strengthening our armed forces. A new era for defence doesn’t just mean our military and government stepping up – as we are – it means our whole nation stepping up.”
An engineer by background, Sir Richard will most likely reference the recent Royal Academy of Engineering and National Engineering Policy Centre report which highlights an engineering skills gap, as well as recruitment and retention challenges, as an example of a fragile system which must be reinvigorated to ensure the nation can continue to function in a crisis.
Drawing parallels to the skills gaps seen across defence, he is expected to talk about the need to work with industry and young people to identify gaps and build pathways to address them.
He is expected to announce £50 million for new Defence Technical Excellence Colleges, which will support thousands of short courses so that defence employers can upskill new hires and existing staff more quickly.
He is also expected to say: “Five colleges in England, and others across the UK, will gain specialist status and major new funding to train people in the skills needed to secure new defence jobs, and help deliver on the ambitions set out in the SDR.
“In addition to training young people for the new jobs of the future, this funding will also support thousands of short courses so defence employers can upskill existing staff quickly, providing the versatility that they – and we – need.”
On defence spending we expect him to say:
“I find myself in a position that none of my predecessors during my career have faced, looking at the prospect of the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War. And that is because the price of peace is increasing.”
Highlighting the increased probability of Russia invading a NATO country, he is expected to say:
“The war in Ukraine shows Putin’s willingness to target neighbouring states, including their civilian populations, potentially with such novel and destructive weapons, threatens the whole of NATO, including the UK.
“The Russian leadership has made clear that it wishes to challenge, limit, divide and ultimately destroy NATO, in former President Medvedev’s words, aspiring to “the disappearance of Ukraine and the disappearance of NATO – preferably both.”
Building on the Strategic Defence Review, he will outline the need for a “whole of society” approach to defence and deterrence, to build a “national resilience” to threats.
On resilience, GPSJ expects him to say:
“Our armed forces always need to be ready to fight and win – that’s why readiness is such a priority.
“But deterrence is also about our resilience to these threats, it’s about how we harness all our national power, from universities, to industry, the rail network to the NHS. It’s about our defence and resilience being a higher national priority for all of us. An ‘all-in’ mentality.
And that will require people who are not soldiers, sailors or aviators to nevertheless invest their skills – and money – in innovation and problem solving on the nation’s behalf.”
As part of rebuilding the national resilience, he will speak about the need to rebuild our defence capabilities and the national infrastructure which underpins that resilience.
Closing his speech, the Chief of Defence Staff will be expected to reaffirm the need for action as the uncertainty we face grows greater. He is expected to say:
“We are heading into uncertainty, and that uncertainty is becoming more profound, both as our adversaries become more capable and unpredictable, and as unprecedented technology change manifests itself’.”
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