UK defence industry to hold ‘first-of-its-kind wargame’ simulating troops under intense fire

By ANDY JEHRING

Published: 01:06 GMT, 2 December 2024 | Updated: 01:44 GMT, 2 December 2024

The UK defence industry is today hosting a ‘first of its kind’ war game simulating how to sustain troops on the front line when faced with ‘intense fighting’.

It will see the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and private businesses tasked with keeping supply lines running in the face of ‘constant disruption’.

Enemy forces will attack British positions on the front whilst trying to take out logistics behind our lines to help us ‘develop a faster, more resilient supply chain’.

It comes as Defence Secretary John Healey launches Britain’s Defence Industrial Strategy today to create a ‘more resilient defence sector’.

The doctrine was last published in 2021 before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and this new strategy is heavily shaped by the first major land conflict in Europe since the Second World War.

Following decades spent fighting insurgencies, the renewed threat of a conflict with a major standing army places huge importance on defending supply lines. 

Moscow and Kyiv now innovate new weapons at lightning pace with drone technology updating by the week to hit behind enemy lines.

The MOD seeks to ‘place deterrence at the heart of a new approach’ to ‘ensure adversaries know the UK has an industrial base that can innovate at a wartime pace’.

Defence Secretary John Healey will today launch Britain’s Defence Industrial Strategy to create a ‘more resilient defence sector’

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales at Glenmallen ahead of defence-related activities

Mr Healey said our defence industry must be ‘better and more integrated’ to ‘keep our Armed Forces equipped, innovating at a wartime pace, and ahead of our adversaries.’

‘National security is the foundation for national stability and growth,’ he said. ‘We are sending a signal to the market and to our adversaries: with a strong UK defence sector we will make Britain secure at home and strong abroad.’

The Defence Industrial Strategy will set out how a strong defence sector can provide ‘the foundation for a decade of national renewal’.

It will see Helsing, Europe’s largest AI company, mass produce thousands of AI-enabled drones as part of a £350million UK investment over five years.

Other firms making big investments in Britain include BAE Systems, Babcock and Rolls Royce.

The Government is also appointing a National Armaments Director to ensure the armed forces are properly equipped to defend Britain. They will be further tasked with cracking down on waste.

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UK defence industry to hold ‘first-of-its-kind wargame’ simulating troops under intense fire

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