Stark warning Britain risks fighting the next war with outdated thinking as drones and cyber threats redefine conflict

Writing exclusively for LBC Opinion, Liam Hutcheson, UK Director at MyDefence, said warfare is evolving at such speed that traditional defence planning risks falling behind the reality on the ground.

His warning comes as the Government pushes ahead with its 2025 Strategic Defence Review, which includes plans to boost military spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and rebuild key capabilities across the Armed Forces.

But Hutcheson cautions that investment alone will not be enough if military thinking does not evolve alongside it.

“The real challenge is ensuring that defence thinking keeps pace with how quickly conflict itself is evolving,” he writes.

The war in Ukraine has become a defining example of that shift, showing how success on the battlefield now depends on rapid adaptation, constant innovation and the ability to respond in real time.

Central to that change is the rise of drones, which Hutcheson says are not just significant because of their firepower, but because of how easily they can be deployed, modified and integrated into wider intelligence networks.

That has already forced a rethink in the UK, with a growing focus on speeding up procurement so new technology can reach the front line in months rather than years.

But the threat is no longer confined to conventional battlefields.

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Hutcheson points to rising tensions with Iran and instability across the Middle East as evidence that modern conflict is increasingly fought in the shadows, through cyber attacks, proxy forces, misinformation and disruption to critical infrastructure.

“The UK is already operating in this environment, where competition is constant and often deliberately ambiguous,” he warns.

A key battleground is the electromagnetic spectrum, an often overlooked domain where communications can be jammed, GPS signals disrupted and critical systems interfered with before troops ever engage.

According to Hutcheson, this kind of disruption can shape entire operations, limiting movement, creating confusion and undermining decision-making at critical moments.

“The advantage now lies not just in seeing first, but in understanding what those signals mean and acting on them quickly,” he writes.

The concern is that these tactics are no longer limited to distant war zones.

Across Europe, there have already been incidents involving drones operating over sensitive sites, including critical national infrastructure such as ports, airports and energy networks.

That, Hutcheson argues, blurs the line between national security and everyday resilience, bringing the realities of modern conflict closer to home.

For the UK, the implication is clear, protecting infrastructure and maintaining operational capability in degraded environments must now sit at the heart of defence planning.

While the Strategic Defence Review signals a shift in the right direction, Hutcheson says mindset will be just as important as money.

Forces must be able to operate in complex, contested environments, process intelligence at speed and make decisions faster than their adversaries.

The warning is stark. Warfare is becoming faster, more fragmented and increasingly dependent on control of the electromagnetic environment.