UK defense secretary Gavin Williamson has committed funding to the development of swarming drones that will act as an air defense capability to complement the nation’s acquisition of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. These networked-enabled and expendable drones will be able to be deployed en masse to counter enemy air defenses, confusing surface-to-air missile systems by depleting their supplies against the drones, allowing high-value and manned aircraft such as the F-35 to pass by unscathed.

This capability is being financed from the Ministry of Defence’s Transformation Fund, £160 million from the defense budget that was ring-fenced in 2018 to support the development of new and emerging technologies, and the drones are expected to come to fruition by the end of 2019. Additionally, on February 13, the UK government’s Defence Science Technology Laboratory announced that it is partaking in a “hackathon” with the U.S. to explore the potential use of swarms of UAVs against wildfires.  

This uptick in commitment to spending comes in the light of increasing investment by enemies on emerging technologies, and Williamson noted that “the armed forces must respond by strengthening our global presence, as well as enhancing our lethality and increasing our mass.” One notable mention from Williamson when he addressed a conference at RUSI on February 11 was a so-called “Venom kinetic strike” capability, something that has led to speculation about what it actually is.

One possibility is that the UK could be considering arming existing ISR capabilities including its Shadow signals intelligence fleet or even adding weapons to its Voyager tanker transport aircraft and Hercules special forces transports, or it could refer to an already planned acquisition such as the future Protector UAV fleet. Williamson said that, via the Transformation Fund, the RAF will double its “armed ISR” capability, something that is often used to describe its MALE UAV force, which is being doubled from the 10-strong MQ-9 Reaper fleet to over 20 through the acquisition of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian under the Protector initiative.

Manned-unmanned teaming was also mentioned as an area of investment for the UK going forward, as well as artificial intelligence, developments that will enable the UK to “dominate the conflict in the gray zone.”

Air Vice Marshal Ian Duguid, commanding officer of the RAF’s 11 Group that was reformed in November 2018, described this gray zone to media on February 12 as areas that are not as easily identified as being hostile, such as the cyber and space domains. Duguid added that, in the future, the RAF envisions that cyber could be used offensively alongside the deployment of the F-35, for example, adding another layer of capability to the UK’s remit.

The government also committed £60 million of funding to the Euroradar e-scan radar for the Eurofighter Typhoon, noting that, in the future, operational RAF squadrons will increase from five to seven and will carry the radar alongside MBDA Storm Shadow cruise missiles. The UK is not yet on contract for the radar despite co-funding the development with the other partner nations.

These commitments were listed alongside a number of promises surrounding naval and land, and while there is a certain shopping list flavor to Williamson’s speech, he has been praised for taking risks with technology, aiming to put the UK out there as a nation to be taken seriously in a post-Brexit climate.  

“I want to see our armed forces embracing transformation at an ever-faster rate, keeping pace with technological change, enhancing our mass and increasing our lethality,” he explained. “We shouldn’t be shy about the ambition that we have for our forces. The future of conflict will require us to be adaptable, agile and capable of using new technologies quickly and cost-effectively.”