UK launches new Military Intelligence Services as hostile activity against Britain surges by more than 50 percent
The UK has unveiled sweeping reforms to its military intelligence apparatus, creating a unified Military Intelligence Services (MIS) and a new Defence Counter-Intelligence Unit (DCIU) amid what ministers describe as a sharp escalation in global and domestic threats.
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The Ministry of Defence said the overhaul, recommended in the Strategic Defence Review, brings together every intelligence organisation across the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, UK Space Command and Permanent Joint Headquarters under one structure for the first time.
The changes are intended to dramatically speed up how the UK gathers, analyses and shares intelligence across domains.
The move comes as “hostile activity towards MOD and Armed Forces” has increased by more than 50% in the past year, with adversaries targeting British infrastructure, launching cyber-attacks, threatening undersea cables, disrupting shipping, and spreading disinformation that directly affects food prices, energy security and public safety.
Launching the reforms at the Wyton intelligence hub in Cambridgeshire, Armed Forces Minister Al Carns and Veterans Minister Louise Sandher-Jones said the new system will place the UK on a stronger footing against rapidly evolving threats. Wyton houses a vast intelligence fusion centre that draws on highly classified material from the Five Eyes alliance.
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Defence Secretary John Healey said: “As threats increase, we are making defence intelligence smarter.
"This Government is delivering the recommendations in the Strategic Defence Review, putting Britain at the leading edge of military innovation. For intelligence, this means cutting-edge technology, clearer structures and faster data flows. This gives us sharper insights into what our adversaries might do next, so we protect our forces, safeguard critical infrastructure, and deter changing threats.
“Our intelligence work is usually unseen but always essential. I am grateful to all our Military Intelligence Services personnel whose round-the-clock vigilance keeps the UK secure at home and strong abroad.”
Under the reforms, the MIS will sit within the Cyber and Specialist Operations Command, under the leadership of the Chief of Defence Intelligence.
Officials say the restructure will allow Defence to fuse data from land, sea, air, space and cyberspace in real time, helping detect and deter adversaries before they act.
A new Defence Intelligence Academy will also provide training in fields including cyber, space and geospatial analysis.
General Sir Jim Hockenhull, Commander of the Cyber and Specialist Operations Command, said the changes mark one of the most significant steps in decades to strengthen the UK’s resilience.
“Intelligence sits at the heart of defence. Underpinning everything we do, it provides the insight and foresight we need and enables our operations.
“In an increasingly complex and volatile world where threats are always evolving, our intelligence operations are always on, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“The establishment of the Military Intelligence Services and the Defence Counter-Intelligence Unit are significant steps forward in strengthening the UK’s ability to anticipate threats, enabling faster and more precise action, supporting our Armed Forces, and protecting our citizens.”
The Government highlighted concerns raised in the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry, which last week warned that foreign intelligence agencies are operating “far beyond traditional espionage norms”, targeting UK personnel, supply chains and advanced defence technology.
The DCIU will consolidate Defence’s counter-intelligence specialists, providing new tools and a unified structure to disrupt hostile actors.
Their mandate includes protecting the UK’s nuclear deterrent, industrial base, and critical infrastructure, while deepening cooperation with UK intelligence agencies and NATO.
The reforms come as the Government ramps up spending on national security. The Prime Minister has committed to investing 5% of GDP on national security by 2035, with defence spending rising to 2.6% of GDP by 2027 and an additional £5 billion allocated this year.
The announcement follows Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s warning on Tuesday that Russia is conducting “information warfare” across Europe.
She told the Foreign Office: “This isn’t about legitimate debate on contentious issues, this is about state-backed organisations who seek to do us harm, pursuing malign aims. So we should call out this for what it is: Russian information warfare, and we are defending ourselves.”
Sanctions were imposed on Russian-linked media outlet Rybar, its co-owner Mikhail Sergeevich Zvinchuk, and several organisations accused of pushing Kremlin propaganda, alongside two China-based companies linked to “advanced and indiscriminate cyber activities”.
Cooper said: “Our message to those who would seek to harm us is clear: we see you in the shadows, we know what you are doing and we will defend ourselves.”