Technology and the role it plays in national defence are now firmly at the forefront of the UK government’s focus and policy. This strategic pivot was underscored this week at London Tech Week, where the Prime Minister explicitly connected AI development to national security capability – announcing a commitment of £1 billion investment to boost the UK’s compute power by a factor of 20. Underpinning this, last week’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) outlined significant budgetary commitments: defence spending is set to rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, aiming for 3% in the next Parliament. These are unequivocal and welcome signals that a new era for innovation and collaboration within British technology and defence has commenced.
As CEO of a rapidly growing dual-use SME at the intersection of defence and emerging technologies, the accelerating momentum of recent months has brought several strategic themes into sharp focus.
Whole-of-Society: The New Defence Paradigm
My co-founder, Mimi Keshani, and I recently returned from an eye-opening tour of the Baltics. We witnessed their unified, whole-of-society approach to safeguarding sovereign principles — all the more powerful given the region is truly on the doorstep of ongoing war. The Baltic states provide a clear blueprint for a Whole of Society approach to national security. It reconfigures the collective understanding of defence from simply an exercise in military muscle to a collective national resilience; civilian preparedness, robust cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure protection.
It is encouraging to now see a clear commitment outlined in the SDR seeking to implement a similar cultural shift, and rethink how we can exploit societal power and leverage broader industry innovation within defence.
The loyalty and commitment to the mission by employees of the defence industrial base is also particularly striking in the USA.
Whilst in Washington DC to meet with strategic partners and finalise a partnership with Booz Allen, the attitude towards the adoption of dual-use technology and industry partnership tangible highlights the benefits to elevating capability and accelerating capacity. As part of this trip we hosted a private event where I also underscored the importance of our partnership with the likes of Booz Allen, and BAE here in the UK, the need for collaboration between tech start ups / SMEs and primes in order to drive effective innovation.
In the UK, we must recognise that we have the potential to powerfully contribute to our allies’ efforts. Both our Baltic visit and time in the US sparked significant interest in Hadean’s technical capabilities and highlighted both an opportunity for bolstering NATO through the UKs world-leading expertise in tech innovation, autonomous systems and AI that the UK’s tech industry represents.
This enthusiasm is not yet culturally embedded within the UK. Our ambition must be to build a sovereign fabric of defence that fosters national resilience and ensures economic growth – a fact reinforced by the Government’s recent strategic imperatives:
“Defence has significant untapped potential to be a new engine for growth at the heart of the UK’s economic strategy. Radical root-and-branch reform of defence procurement—combined with substantial investment in innovation, novel technology, advanced manufacturing, and skills—would grow the productive capacity of the UK economy.” To realise this ambition, industry can no longer view itself as a third party supplier, but rather as part of the sovereign capability – part of a mission partnership. In order for startups and SMEs to survive, the government must recognise their business and financial pressures. At the moment high-growth scale-ups are incentivised to leave the UK and relocate to the Baltics, Nordics or USA. Despite our world-class academic institutions, the talent that emerges looks for opportunities in other arenas.
A Sovereign Defence Ecosystem
The need for a sovereign capability has never been more stark. I hosted the first defence industrial strategy representing SMEs and pushed forward the stark reality and challenges facing organisations in the defence space. Again I raised the need for collaboration between the startups / SMEs with the traditional SIs and primes to ensure that the UKs own innovation effectively scaled, operationalised, and embedded within critical national capabilities. Yesterday, my co-founder Mimi Keshani was at Downing street reinforcing the message.
No single company delivers capability in isolation. The future lies in a connected, adaptable landscape, one that can absorb new technologies quickly, scale as needed, and evolve with shifting threats. This vision must be underpinned by modular architectures, trusted partnerships, and a shared commitment to digital-first readiness.
We welcome the change that the SDR is advocating for – turning complexity into capability. We stand ready to contribute, not as a supplier, but as part of a sovereign, resilient, and digitally capable defence ecosystem.
