By Brigadier John Clark
In early 2021, the Integrated Review (IR) and the Defence Command Paper (DCP) set out a clearly defined vision for Defence to contribute to a more prosperous, secure and stronger United Kingdom in an increasingly competitive world. This was backed by a significant financial settlement to ensure that the Department could invest in a programme of modernisation to underwrite its ability to sustain strategic advantage. The recently launched Integrated Operating Concept (IOpC) provides clarity on how this will be delivered with forces that are designed to operate across a continuum of conflict, persistently engaged across the globe and able to move rapidly from operating to war fighting. This has been a watershed moment for Defence and for the Army which will become more agile, integrated, lethal and expeditionary.
The imperative for the British Army to change is clear. We must adapt to operate in a volatile strategic environment that is increasingly characterised by great power competition, the proliferation of technology, the impacts of globalisation and the information age. On the future battlefield, our Army will not necessarily enjoy technical superiority; it will become increasingly hard to move and hide as sensors and surveillance systems become more powerful and weapons will kill with greater range and accuracy. Potential adversaries will continue to attempt to bypass our strengths through increasingly sophisticated and diverse methods beneath the threshold of conventional armed conflict.
And so, for the Army to succeed we know that we need to enhance our ability to compete – all of the time. This will be enabled by more persistent presence and engagement overseas, capitalising on UK Defence’s global network and a series of Land Regional Hubs. We will increase our ability to anticipate and tackle threats at source; to use a medical analogy, there will be a shift in emphasis from cure to prevention. When we are required to fight, our readiness and ability to respond rapidly and decisively will replace traditional notions of mass and mobilisation as the primary currency.
Although we hold many of the necessary skills and capabilities to deliver these effects, we will overhaul our structures, develop our people, and update our equipment to meet these challenges. We will bring into service a modernised fleet of fighting platforms with greater protection and lethality, digitised and networked. We will redress the imbalance that currently exists between combat, combat support and combat service support to develop forces that can operate as self-sustaining combat teams with capabilities integrated at the lowest practical, efficient, and effective levels. Crucially, we will invest in the Deep Battle with the necessary sensors and offensive support capabilities without which we cannot succeed in close combat.
At the same time, our Army must also invest in transformational technologies, fuelled by collaborative experimentation with industry partners and allies, to enable the early adoption of next generation capabilities. The scale of the change required is substantial but presents an opportunity to re-shape and re-equip the Army to be the most modern and technologically advanced of its size in the world. We have called this transformation programme Future Soldier.
So, the IR has offered a significant opportunity to the Army. Warfighting will remain the cornerstone of deterrence and at the core of the Army’s DNA but, if we are to get ahead of the competition, we must be prepared to embrace some profound changes. Centred on the 3rd UK Division, a new Brigade Combat Team construct will create more deployable and sustainable force packages, built around the digitally connected nucleus of armoured fighting vehicles, attack helicopters and long-range precision weapons and surveillance. New Security Force Assistance and Army Special Operations Brigades, including a Ranger Regiment, will be at the vanguard of the Army’s increased capability to compete globally on a persistent basis.
The Army’s Global Response Force, comprising 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team and 1st Aviation Brigade Combat Team, will enhance our ability to respond rapidly and effectively to emerging crises. The establishment of a prototype warfighting and experimentation unit will lead in trialling cutting-edge technology and its integration into the way we fight; testing the force to its limits, driving innovation and ensuring that the Army’s structures, equipment and way of fighting evolve in line with the threats. A new Land Industrial Strategy will strengthen our partnerships with industry to unlock and rapidly exploit the potential of innovation and spiral development, delivering the kit we need when we need it, as well as contributing to UK prosperity.
Throughout this process we remain clear-eyed on the challenges and risks inherent in delivering the Army’s strategy. The transition from obsolete capabilities to new ones will require very careful management over the next decade. The demand for better integration which lies at the heart of the proposition is much simpler to say than to deliver. Reserves, Civil Servants, and contractors are intrinsically important to the new Army’s structure and outputs in a way we have not seen for some time. Furthermore, the Army must be better able to work seamlessly with maritime, air, space and cyber as part of Defence’s Integrated Force, delivering multi-domain effect. Crucially the Army must also be designed to operate routinely with other government departments, Allies (particularly NATO) and partners.
Finally, throughout this the Army must maintain resilience against strategic shocks. The Covid pandemic has illustrated just how fragile assumptions can be. An economic downturn in the coming years, either in the aftermath of the pandemic or otherwise, would force us to reassess our priorities and adjust our programmes accordingly. Other threats include the impact of climate change and the unanticipated event of major armed conflict. All of these will be factored into our thinking so that our Army is able to retain sufficient flexibility to generate strategic choice, adapt and win.
About The Author
Brig. John Clark CBE, Head Army Strategy commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1999. He has spent the majority of his career working with Airborne Forces although he has also served in armoured and mechanised units and formations, including as a mechanised brigade chief of staff. He has deployed on operations to Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan (three times) and Cyprus.
Brigadier Clark has commanded at Brigade level and below and has experience of warfighting, combat and construction engineering, capacity building/indigenous force training, UN peacekeeping, and developing and maintaining very high readiness forces. He has also worked in the Ministry of Defence on the Army Strategy team with specific responsibility for strategic communications and cross-government engagement.
Brigadier Clark’s education includes an undergraduate degree in Arabic (with Islamic Studies and History) from Oxford University, a master’s degree in Military Art and Science from the US School of Advanced Military Studies, UK Defence’s Higher Command and Staff Course and the Institute of Directors’ Strategic Business Programme. He most recently commanded 16 Air Assault Brigade, the Army’s Global Response Force.
From September 2016 to September 2018 he worked as the Military Assistant to the Prime Minister with responsibility for the political-military interface, all Defence matters, and Middle East foreign policy within No. 10 Downing Street. He took up his current appointment, working in the Ministry of Defence on the Army’s contribution to the Government’s Integrated Review in July 2020.
