The Defense Power Play in the UK
Britain is set to overhaul its military. What ‘preparing for war’ means for the economy.
Today’s British Army looks very different than it did 20 years ago. Its numbers have shrunk, and its defense technology has improved dramatically. And if the way the government is talking about it is any indication, the change is just getting started.
For most of NATO’s history, Britain spent considerably more than the required minimum of 2% of GDP on defense. From 1960 through 1991, the country spent at least 4% annually. But spending has dropped since then, and some features of the armed forces have shrunk with it, such as the number of soldiers. But now the government is trying to both modernize the military and increase its capabilities. “The reality is we need to prepare for war,” says Edward Dinsmore, Korn Ferry’s senior client partner covering organizational strategy within the Industrial practice.
There’s been a significant shift in focus, with a greater emphasis on fighting alongside NATO allies, Dinsmore says: “We all need to learn the same things, so we are all having the same doctrine.” And that involves every NATO country’s armed forces attending the best NATO college. “If the best one isn’t up to snuff, then we will use our influence to raise the bar for all of NATO,” he says. In short, that means moving to battle readiness.
Though the British government wants to increase spending as a percentage of GDP, that won’t happen until 2027. But the wait hasn’t stopped innovative and entrepreneurial companies from getting in on the act now by increasing their investments. “The market is taking over,” says Simon Vaughan-Edwards, Korn Ferry’s senior client partner, defense government and national security, executive search. “Capital is coming into the defense-technology industry.”
Meanwhile, the government is building relationships with industry to get closer to being on a war footing. Other changes will include a significant acceleration of the procurement timeline, from six years to two years or less.
The government also wants to institute a “whole of society” approach that will involve revising the national curriculum for schools to emphasize the importance of protecting our values and defending them, Dinsmore says. One tacit goal will be to encourage the British people to support those serving in the military, which the public hasn’t always done.
The whole society approach, if it’s successful, may also help with recruitment during wartime—in particular with inspiring employees to voluntarily quit their jobs to join the military. “The war for talent will be more based on the moral compass than money,” Vaughan-Edwards says. Dinsmore says the government plans to increase the number of reservists (i.e., part-time soldiers or sailors, or those who have recently left the military) and modestly expand the size of the army.
The plan involves many other changes as well, including using new technologies to swiftly develop, and maintain the global superiority of, new defense systems.
Despite these goals, Britain’s economy has been stuck in ultraslow growth for a few years now. That sluggishness could weigh heavily on the UK Treasury and hence on the government’s ability to fulfill its promise to increase defense spending and rebuild a somewhat depleted defense force into a formidable one outfitted with cutting-edge gear, experts say. Even if the economy bounces back, the country will have to wait until 2027 for the promised funds to produce materiel in sufficient quantities to defeat enemies. “There is a huge amount of work to get us back to where we should be on defense,” Vaughan-Edwards says.
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