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Fast-track to £40k: Military recruits ‘cyber warriors’ with just one-month training and highest salary in the armed forces
6 February 2025, 09:38 | Updated: 6 February 2025, 09:49
The armed forces will accelerate the recruitment of "cyber warriors" following more than 90,000 online attacks on Britain over the past two years.
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Specialist recruits will see their basic training reduced from 10 weeks to just one month and will be offered starting salaries of £40,000—among the highest in the armed forces—as the UK strengthens its cyber defences.
After completing their initial training, recruits will undergo three months of specialist instruction at the Defence Cyber Academy in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, before being deployed to operational roles by the end of the year.
Launching the scheme on Thursday, armed forces minister Luke Pollard said the UK was facing "a new era of threat" in which cyberspace had become "a new front line."
He added: "With more than 90,000 cyberattacks on UK military networks over the last two years, it is essential that we step up our cyber defence, fast-tracking the brightest and the best cyber specialists to help protect the UK and our allies."
The initial pilot scheme aims to recruit around 32 specialists in 2025, with numbers expected to increase in future years.
The new entry route will see Armed Forces recruits and those with existing digital skills undertake basic training reduced from 10 weeks to around a month, after which recruits will undergo three months of specialist training.
Thursday's announcement comes amid growing concerns over cyber threats from both criminals and hostile foreign states.
In December, Richard Horne, head of the National Cyber Security Centre, warned that the threat was "getting broader and in some parts deeper," while MI5 director general Sir Ken McCallum has said cyberspace is becoming "ever more important" to Russia as it probes Western defences.
The new recruits will work to secure military networks and services at the armed forces' digital headquarters in Corsham, Wiltshire, or as part of the National Cyber Force.
A joint initiative between GCHQ and the Ministry of Defence, the National Cyber Force is tasked with disrupting online threats to the UK.
Defence Secretary John Healey said: "Fast-tracking cyber warriors into our military will help ensure our armed forces are better equipped to face our adversaries in the 21st century and defend the country from the changing threats we face.
"After years of hollowing out, our Government is making Britain secure at home and strong abroad, delivering on our Plan for Change and the hardworking British people."
The cyber roles will initially be part of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, with the Army set to join recruitment campaigns from 2026 onwards.
