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By Sean Rayment
Defence chiefs believe that UK military intelligence will be more efficient, faster and better able to anticipate future threats following the launch of the new Military Intelligence Services (MIS).
The major overhaul of Defence’s intelligence organisations comes amid increasing threats to the UK and will help keep Britain ahead of hostile states and terrorists, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
Following the recommendations of the Strategic Defence Review, the reforms bring every intelligence unit and organisation within Defence under a single structure for the first time. This includes units from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force, and is expected to speed up how information is gathered, analysed and shared across the Armed Forces, according to the MoD.
The announcement comes amid escalating threats to the UK, as adversaries intensify cyber-attacks, disrupt satellites, threaten global shipping lanes and spread disinformation.
The MoD has said these threats increasingly affect everyday life, driving up food prices, increasing economic uncertainty and threatening energy security and national infrastructure.
The MoD is also launching a new Defence Counter-Intelligence Unit (DCIU). Over the past year, hostile intelligence activity against the MoD has risen by more than 50 per cent, which defence chiefs say demonstrates how rapidly the UK’s adversaries are intensifying their efforts.
The Minister for the Armed Forces, Al Carns MP, and the Minister for Veterans and People, Louise Sandher-Jones MP, launched the MIS and DCIU at one of the UK’s key intelligence sites — RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire. The site includes a football-pitch-sized intelligence fusion centre, bringing together top-secret intelligence from across the Five Eyes partnership.
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: “As threats increase, we are making defence intelligence smarter.
“This government is delivering the recommendations of the Strategic Defence Review, putting Britain at the leading edge of military innovation. For intelligence, this means cutting-edge technology, clearer structures and faster data flows. This gives us sharper insights into what our adversaries might do next, so we can protect our forces, safeguard critical infrastructure and deter evolving threats.
“Our intelligence work is usually unseen but always essential. I am grateful to all our Military Intelligence Services personnel whose round-the-clock vigilance keeps the UK secure at home and strong abroad.”
The Military Intelligence Services bring together intelligence units from the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, UK Space Command and Permanent Joint Headquarters, ensuring they operate as a single system.
Under the command of Cyber and Specialist Operations Command, and the leadership of the Chief of Defence Intelligence, the new organisation will provide Defence with faster and clearer warnings of threats to UK forces and the public. This will allow the UK to use data from land, sea, air, space and cyberspace in real time, sharpening the nation’s ability to deter adversaries before they act.
The MIS will be supported by the new Defence Intelligence Academy, which will offer world-class training in key intelligence disciplines such as cyber, space and geospatial analysis.
General Sir Jim Hockenhull, Commander of Cyber and Specialist Operations Command, said: “Intelligence sits at the heart of defence. Underpinning everything we do, it provides the insight and foresight we need and enables our operations.
“In an increasingly complex and volatile world where threats are constantly evolving, our intelligence operations are always on — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“The establishment of the Military Intelligence Services and the Defence Counter-Intelligence Unit are significant steps forward in strengthening the UK’s ability to anticipate threats, enabling faster and more precise action, supporting our Armed Forces and protecting our citizens.”
The Dawn Sturgess Inquiry, published last week, concluded that foreign intelligence services are now operating far beyond traditional espionage norms, targeting Defence personnel, technology programmes, supply chains and the wider defence industry, both at home and overseas.
The Defence Counter-Intelligence Unit will bring together counter-intelligence professionals from across Defence, providing them with the tools and structure needed to disrupt and deter hostile activity more effectively.
Its work will protect the UK’s most sensitive capabilities — including the nuclear deterrent, high-tech industrial projects and critical infrastructure — while strengthening cooperation with UK intelligence agencies and NATO allies.
Earlier this year, the Prime Minister made a historic commitment to spend five per cent of GDP on national security from 2035, alongside the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War. Defence spending is set to reach 2.6 per cent of GDP by 2027, with an additional £5 billion allocated for defence this year alone.
