The United Kingdom must extend its military imprint into the Arctic and the North, while the region is becoming more and more contested due to the merger of the opening of sea ice, the government’s defense exam should advise.
The document should call for significant investments in drones and advanced technology, in the context of a new era of state conflict, according to people who have familiar it.
The examination will assert the UK’s approach to the “Otato” defense, to prioritize the security of the British own court in the Euro-Atlantic region and by fulfilling obligations to the alliance.
John Healey, defense secretary, has already despised the “tilt” of the last conservative administration towards Indo-Pacific in his defense and foreign policy.
The examination is led by an independent team led by the former secretary general of NATO, Lord George Robertson, and was invited to examine the threats to which Great Britain is confronted, the capacities necessary to meet them, as well as by the state of the armed forces.
The examination was strongly affected by the change of security policy of US President Donald Trump, including his intention to reduce US military resources based in Europe.
There was an argument on the journal’s publication calendar, which the government promised in the first half of 2025. Described by defense officials as an “iterative process”, a fourth version was submitted to ministers on March 10, people familiar with the case said.
By focusing on the Atlantic region, the review will recommend that the United Kingdom intensify military activity in the high northern, including the Arctic, said the people.
New shipping routes open due to the melting of ice, which makes the rich natural resources, covering oil, gas, minerals and rare, more accessible land metals. This has fueled competition for influence and control among competitors, including the United States, Russia, China and the nations of Northern Europe.
The United Kingdom has already expressed its concerns about the climbing of the militarization of Russia, and Healey went to Norway in February to discuss the increase in safety.
Trump, for his part, piled up pressure on Denmark to yield control of the Arctic Island of Greenland to the United States, causing a diplomatic row.
The recent deployment of snowmobiles in the Arctic Circle by the MOD “said travel management,” said an industry expert.
Ed Arnold, principal researcher in European security at the Royal United Services Institute, said the United Kingdom was under pressure to provide more difficult military capacities north of the Nordic allies concerned with the American posture.
“They expect that we deploy a more complete military presence there, because in terms of things like intelligence, surveillance and recognition assets, and anti-submarine war, we are the only ones to be able to mitigate the United States by reappearing some of their Indo-Pacific resources,” said Arnold.
The deployment of new assets and staff in the high northern would be based considerably on the work of previous conservative administrations. Former conservative defense secretary Ben Wallace set out a new Arctic strategy in 2022, who explained the threat without engaging in a new investment.
Industry leaders said the consensus was wide that the Royal Navy would guarantee more investment than the British army due to the exam. The message of NATO nations of Eastern Europe was that even if they did not need land support, the capacities of the RAF and the navy were important, they said.
The exam should confirm that the United Kingdom is going ahead with investments in the Global Combat Air program, an initiative between Great Britain, Italy and Japan, to create a sixth generation fighter airplane.
While Sir Keir Starmer has promised to increase defense expenses by 2.3% of GDP by 2.5% compared to 2027, worth 6 billion pounds sterling per year, the commitment is below 2.65% sought by British military leaders, which means that the expenditure dilemmas are in advance.
Investment in traditional platforms, including ships, jets and land vehicles, must be balanced with the development of new unmanned air and sea systems and other new technologies, the exam should say.
It is also about to cause additional work to stimulate the forces and reserves of cadets, and improve the bonds of the Ministry of Defense with veterans adjusted and trained in the event of conflict, according to people who have familiar.
The ministers have established plans for an approach to “all of society”, some officials more emphasis on democratic values, national resilience and defense in the school program.
The examination should also examine the structuring of cyber-personnel in the United Kingdom, which rides the GCHQ signal intelligence agency, the National Cyber For Defense and other government units.
The idea is not to create a common command as “spatial force” in the United States but to restructure and rationalize, so the units do not try to steal people from the other and to have a “common admission mechanism”, according to people familiar with the plan.
Some defense figures are pressure for the review to be published at the beginning of next month before the United Kingdom and the EU trying to obtain a new defense pact at a summit on May 19, and in order to better influence a NATO meeting on June 24.
Other officials wish to publish later in June, to align with the examination of the Treasury expenses and a wider security strategy led by national security advisor Jonathan Powell, people said.
The MOD refused to comment on “speculation”, but added that it is designed to “carefully look at the threats we face and the capacities we need to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century” and will be published “as soon as possible”.
Additional report by Helen Warrell
