Overview
- Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton urged a whole‑of‑society effort with more Britons ready to fight, including increases in regulars, reserves and cadets.
- He announced £50 million for new Defence Technical Excellence Colleges to accelerate training for critical defence and industrial skills.
- The government says it will not reintroduce conscription and has pledged multi‑year increases in defence spending.
- Knighton warned of daily Russian cyber attacks and sabotage, citing damage to European undersea cables and Russian spy ships near UK waters.
- He highlighted economic risks, pointing to an estimated £7.64bn cost from a seven‑day loss of satellite signals and a £1.5bn bill linked to a Jaguar Land Rover cyber incident.