UK defence spending ‘falls well short’ as Ukraine military experts warn war is changing every three months
BAE Systems chief says military funding remains inadequate as Ukrainian operators warn battlefield technology can become obsolete within six months
Britain is still not spending enough to protect itself from a rapidly changing military threat, the head of the country’s largest defence company has warned, as Ukrainian drone operators told LBC that frontline technology can become obsolete within months.
Charles Woodburn, chief executive of BAE Systems, said the additional £15 billion announced by the Government in June “falls well short” of what is required.
He described the current security climate as “by far the most threatening time” he has seen and warned that Russia and Ukraine have become “incredibly adept” at drone and counter-drone warfare.
His comments echo warnings given to LBC by Ukrainian servicewomen operating unmanned aircraft against Russian forces, who described a battlefield being transformed by drones, electronic warfare, artificial intelligence and the speed at which both sides adapt.
Read more: Russian soldiers ‘survive on average 20 minutes when they reach frontline due to drone attacks’
The message for Britain from the experts is simple, more drones alone is not the answer. The Armed Forces must be able to redesign equipment, rewrite software, change tactics and replace systems at a pace traditional defence procurement has rarely managed.
Mr Woodburn said: “This is by far the most threatening time I’ve seen.
“Even when I joined the company in 2016, I was amazed at what we saw Russian submarines doing, the cyber attacks.
“I think that’s come a long way. Sadly, as a result of the Ukraine conflict, we’re much more aware of the proximity of a hot war in Europe.”
The Government announced an additional £15 billion for defence in June, but the funding settlement was followed by the resignation of John Healey as defence secretary amid concerns over the money available to the military.
Mr Woodburn said the extra funding still “falls well short of what is needed to protect the country”.
Modern warfare, he warned, had “changed quite profoundly”.
“Both the Russians and the Ukrainians have become incredibly adept at the use of drones and counter-drones,” he said.
“It’s something that we now have to really understand and make sure that we’re able to provide the capabilities that can counter that and deter aggression.”
That assessment is backed by those fighting the new form of warfare first-hand.
Olesia Horianova, co-founder of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre, told LBC the nature of war was changing in “leaps and bounds” because of drones, powerful electronic warfare systems, artificial intelligence and network-centred operations.
She said the war had become a de facto arms race, particularly in unmanned systems, electronic warfare and electronic countermeasures.
But that race is now moving so quickly that even advanced equipment may only remain effective for a matter of months.
“The most advanced models may remain effective for approximately three to six months, after which they require modernisation due to the rapid development of countermeasures,” she said.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, drones have become central to almost every part of the battlefield.
They are used to find enemy positions, track troop movements, guide artillery, strike vehicles, attack trenches, disrupt logistics and protect infantry.
Former Armed Forces Minister Al Carns has previously argued that drones are now the dominant weapons system on the modern battlefield and that Western militaries must be reorganised around them.
“It’s not about integration, it’s about redesigning, restructuring around the most effective killing weapons system that you have on the battlefield today,” he said.
For Britain, the problem is not simply if it can manufacture or purchase enough aircraft. It is whether the military and defence industry can adapt them before the enemy learns how to defeat them.
Kateryna Avdieieva, a 29-year-old UAV operator and sergeant in Ukraine’s 154th Separate Mechanized Brigade, told LBC that the most valuable lessons could only be learned in combat.
“When a new drone system arrives, crews go through training,” she said.
“But the most valuable knowledge is what you gain during the war itself: how drones behave under Russian electronic warfare, how to respond in non-standard situations, how to account for weather and all the other factors that can’t be fully replicated on a training range.
“Field experience is what matters most today.”
Kateryna was born in Donetsk and worked as a journalist before joining Ukraine’s armed forces in 2020.
She initially served as an admin officer at an artillery group headquarters before training, on her own initiative, to operate the Fury reconnaissance UAV.
She went on to reconnaissance and artillery-adjustment missions near Vovchansk and now serves with the 154th Separate Mechanized Brigade, where she has flown the Shark reconnaissance system and is training on the Baton strike platform.
During her service, she has helped locate and destroy Russian artillery, armoured vehicles and other targets.
“The moments that stay with me most are from Vovchansk, when we spotted Russian IFVs and APCs already moving towards our positions,” she said.
“We passed on the coordinates, artillery opened fire, and we adjusted their work.
“The enemy vehicles were destroyed before they could engage, and our infantry didn’t have to absorb that blow.”
Her experience shows why drones can no longer be treated as a separate or specialist capability.
They are weapons, but also sensors, scouts and targeting systems. Increasingly, they are one of the main ways soldiers stay alive.
The operators themselves, however, are being hunted.
Ms Horianova said Russian forces were using satellite imagery, reconnaissance drones, electronic intelligence, intercepted communications, open-source information and human sources to identify Ukrainian drone bases and launch sites.
Russian security services have also attempted to recruit Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel and their relatives, to gather information, she said.
That can involve asking civilians to locate deployment sites or trying to extract information from relatives and misled service personnel.
Far from operating safely behind computer screens, drone crews are now treated as high-value targets.
Daryna, a 21-year-old interceptor drone operator with the call sign “Navi”, serves in the BULAVA unit of the Separate Presidential Brigade.
She told LBC that drone pilots can be positioned “in the same line or right alongside infantry”.
“That makes it genuinely dangerous,” she said.
Daryna described enemy Shahed drones flying just 20 metres above her head.
“So I wouldn’t call it sterile conditions by any means,” she said.
“The thing about a Ukrainian soldier is that they can do everything. They don’t have just one speciality. A single person in the field covers the work of several people at once.
“It’s extremely difficult, but that’s precisely what creates this versatility.”
That ability to adapt is now one of Ukraine’s main advantages. Ms Horianova said Ukrainian manufacturers worked closely with frontline units, allowing weapons and software to be refined using combat experience “virtually in real time”.
Western defence companies are also increasingly drawing on feedback from Ukrainian forces to improve their systems.
The difficulty for Britain is that Ukraine’s drone war is moving at the speed of software, while conventional defence procurement can still move at the speed of a peacetime government contract.
Kateryna said Russian electronic warfare and FPV drones hunting Ukrainian reconnaissance aircraft were among the biggest problems now facing crews.
Ukraine needs technology capable of automatically detecting electronic warfare sources and helping drones evade incoming aircraft, she said.
“The Shark, for example, already has a system that helps the aircraft detect FPV drones and perform evasive manoeuvres,” she said.
“Developing that kind of capability further is what could substantially cut our drone losses right now.”
Yevhenia, a 22-year-old operator with the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade “Edelweiss”, said Ukraine needed a constant supply of new engineering solutions because “the world does not stand still”.
Her warning to Britain was simple. “I’d rather they do everything possible so they never have to learn it in practice,” she told LBC.
“War is not a video game and not a romanticised image from the movies. It is a reality in which people die every single day.
“And if circumstances do require defending your country, approach it responsibly and fully aware of the gravity and the cost of such decisions.”
BAE Systems this week secured a £708 million Ministry of Defence contract extension to continue work on a next-generation combat aircraft.
New Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the investment would strengthen Britain’s defence and deterrence while supporting British jobs and communities.
BAE Systems shares rose following Mr Healey’s appointment as Chancellor, amid expectations that he could support further increases in military spending.
“The fact that he understands the requirements of defence we see as a very positive thing,” Mr Woodburn said.
But the warnings from industry and the Ukrainian frontline suggest money alone will not solve the problem.
Britain needs operators, electronic warfare systems, counter-drone defences, rapid procurement, fast software updates, reliable battlefield feedback and troops capable of adapting when their equipment stops working.
Artillery and armoured vehicles still matter, but their survival increasingly depends on protective structures, extra armour and counter-drone systems that must evolve with the threat.
In Ukraine, this is happening every day. A drone spots a target, artillery moves in, and the operator adjusts the fire. Russia changes its tactics, electronic warfare knocks systems out, and engineers are forced to find a fix almost immediately.
And, that is the real warning for Britain. It is not enough to prepare for the next war. The military has to be able to adapt at the speed of the one already being fought.