The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) is set to drive change across all of Defence.  It is a landmark shift in the country’s deterrence and defence, and enables the UK's Armed Forces to move to warfighting readiness.

This is to be supported by a new partnership with industry that maximises internal and industrial expertise, accelerates acquisition processes, manages risk and cost, and engages a wider set of suppliers.

DISCUSSION TOPICS:

• A strategic Inflection on SDR
• The Defence level goals of SDR
• Strategic Command level goals of SDR
• The renaming of Strategic Command to 'Cyber & Specialist Operations Command'
  

• The New Cyber Command: 

• • Cyber & EM Command and The Digital Targeting web
  • Cyber & EM Command and Integrated Global Defence Network (IGDN)
  • Cyber & EM Command and the move of Defence Digital into National Armaments Director Group (NAD Group)
  • The move of Chief of Defence Logistics and Support (CDLS) into NAD Chief of Defence Logistics and Support
  • The move of Defence Futures into Military Strategic Headquarters (MSHQ)
• The role of Esports in Defence

Pose your questions to Lieutenant General Sir Tom Copinger-Symes KCB CBE, Deputy Commander of UK Strategic Command and member of Chief Disruptor's Members’ Advisory Board.

HEAR FROM:

Lieutenant General Sir Tom Copinger-Symes KCB CBE
Deputy Commander, UK Strategic Command

Lt Gen Copinger-Symes spent his early career on operations with The Royal Green Jackets (now The Rifles) on operations in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan; and in operational and strategy posts at the Permanent Joint Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence.

In 2014, he formed and commanded the 1st Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance Brigade, created to integrate the Army’s intelligence collection and exploitation capabilities. In 2017, he led the ‘Information Manoeuvre’ Project, commissioned by the Army’s Board to explore the benefits of integrating the Army’s information-centric and digital capabilities and to exploit digital technology with new ways of warfare.

In his next post, as a Major General, he commanded those capabilities, pioneering the Army’s response to a new era of great power competition, which culminated in his formation’s re-designation as 6th (UK) Division.

In 2019 he was appointed Director Strategy and Military Digitisation at Defence Digital, accelerating Defence’s digital transformation and increasing its adoption and exploitation of digital technology. And on May 22 took up the post of Deputy Commander UK Strategic Command on promotion to Lieutenant General.