The UK’s defence innovation system is undergoing significant change. The Strategic Defence Review 2025 outlined approaches for simplifying and speeding up innovation. A new ‘UK Defence Innovation’ organisation was launched in July 2025, with an annual budget of £400 million to streamline the delivery of innovative technology to the armed forces. The Government has also appointed a new National Armaments Director and published the Defence Industrial Strategy, which aims to make the defence sector “an engine for growth”.
The Government has said that the UK needs to move to “warfighting readiness” in response to “a new era of threat”, and that the ability to innovate at a wartime pace will be a key component. This raises questions about the UK’s ability to improve, scale and operationalise defence R&D at the pace required.
Internationally, there are examples of rapid and agile approaches to developing defence technologies that could inform the UK’s approach, such as the accelerated innovation taking place due to the war in Ukraine.
This POSTnote would look at the barriers to effective defence R&I in the UK, how they are being addressed, and what can be learnt from other approaches to defence innovation internationally.