Defence Committee session on the war in Ukraine

This week the Defence Select Committee took evidence on the ongoing war in Ukraine from Dr Patricia Lewis, Former Director of the International Security Programme at Chatham House, Air Marshal Edward Stringer (Ret'd) at Policy Exchange and Orysia Lutsevych OBE, Deputy Director of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House.

I asked Edward Stringer about what adjustments the UK should make to its procurement and deployment processes for military aid to Ukraine.

The experts emphasised the importance of the UK defence industrial base learning from the Ukrainian battlefield and swiftly developing technological solutions. They noted that governments can take risks in this area where companies might hesitate. This approach would benefit the UK long-term by contributing to technologies for the Joint Expeditionary Force - JEF and other European alliances.

A key takeaway was the importance of UK investment to help maintain NATO's cohesion and effectiveness in the short-term. As European NATO powers we have not yet done enough to scale our defence industrial base.