Chief of Defence Staff Urges ‘Whole-of-Society’ Readiness to Deter Growing Threat

The UK’s Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, today issued a call for a profound national shift toward resilience and readiness, stating that “a whole-of-society response” is necessary to deter potential future confrontation, primarily from Russia.

Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute, Sir Richard emphasized that while a direct attack on the UK remains remote, the nature of “hybrid attacks”—including cyber-onslaughts, espionage, and potential sabotage—demonstrates a worsening threat environment.

“Sons and daughters. Colleagues. Veterans will all have a role to play. To build. To serve. And if necessary, to fight,” Sir Richard stated. “And more families will know what sacrifice for our nation means.”

Building a Harder Target

The CDS highlighted Russia’s increasingly sophisticated and combat-experienced military, noting that the UK must make itself a “harder target” to avoid war. This resilience effort extends far beyond the armed forces, requiring the full harness of the nation’s key institutions and industries.

Key pillars of the CDS’s plan for national resilience include:

1. Increased Personnel: An expansion of regular forces, cadets, and reserves to increase overall national readiness.
2. Industrial Mobilization: A critical need to build industrial capacity to meet the demands of re-stocking and re-arming the UK and its allies.
3. Skills and Recruitment: A direct appeal for more school leavers and graduates to enter the defence and manufacturing industries to close identified skills gaps.

Investing in the Future of Defence

To address the immediate skills shortage, Sir Richard announced a £50 million investment for new defence technical excellence colleges. He stressed that defence and political leaders, schools, and parents must collectively encourage young people to pursue careers in the defence industry.

The CDS placed his remarks in a historic context, acknowledging that he is in a position none of his predecessors faced: “looking at the prospect of the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War,” following the government’s commitment to raising defence and security spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 at the latest.

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Sir Richard’s comments come as other European nations, including France and Germany, have recently outlined their own plans for voluntary national service.

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