On December 12, 2025, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) unveiled a sweeping overhaul of its intelligence apparatus, uniting all military intelligence units under a single command. This bold move, which officials say is the most significant restructuring of British military intelligence in decades, comes amid escalating threats from hostile states and non-state actors, and aims to keep the UK a step ahead in an increasingly volatile world.
The new Military Intelligence Services (MIS) will consolidate intelligence operations from the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, UK Space Command, and the Permanent Joint Headquarters. According to the MoD, this integration will dramatically speed up how information is gathered, analyzed, and shared across the armed forces—an urgent necessity as hostile intelligence activity against the UK has surged by more than 50% in the past year alone, as reported by BBC and el-Balad.
“As threats increase, we are making defence intelligence smarter,” declared Defence Secretary John Healey at the launch event, held at RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire—a site known for its football-pitch-sized intelligence fusion centre. “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.”
The MIS will operate under the Cyber and Specialist Operations Command and the leadership of the Chief of Defence Intelligence. This new structure is designed to provide faster, clearer warnings of threats to UK forces and the public, allowing real-time use of data from land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. The goal? To sharpen the nation’s ability to deter adversaries before they act, and to strengthen the UK’s resilience against everything from cyber-attacks and satellite disruptions to disinformation campaigns that can drive up food prices and threaten energy security.
Alongside the MIS, the MoD is launching the Defence Counter-Intelligence Unit (DCIU), which will bring together counter-intelligence professionals from across the military. Their mission: to disrupt and deter hostile activity more effectively, protecting the UK’s most sensitive capabilities—including the nuclear deterrent, high-tech industrial projects, and critical infrastructure—while deepening cooperation with UK intelligence agencies and NATO allies. The DCIU is expected to play a crucial role in countering threats that now target not just military personnel, but also technology programs, supply chains, and the broader defense industry both at home and overseas, as highlighted in the recent Dawn Sturgess Inquiry.
The MoD’s reforms are also supported by the launch of the Defence Intelligence Academy, which will provide specialized, world-class training in key intelligence disciplines such as cyber, space, and geospatial analysis. The Academy aims to ensure that British intelligence professionals remain at the cutting edge of their field, equipped to handle threats in a world where adversaries are constantly evolving their tactics.
General Sir Jim Hockenhull, Commander of the Cyber and Specialist Operations Command, emphasized the importance of the changes in a statement: “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 timing of these reforms is no coincidence. The Dawn Sturgess Inquiry, published just a week prior to the MoD’s announcement, concluded that foreign intelligence services are now operating far beyond traditional espionage norms. The Inquiry revealed that these actors have targeted UK defence personnel, technology programs, and even supply chains, both domestically and overseas. In direct response, the UK government sanctioned Russia’s main military intelligence agency, the GRU, in its entirety—a move that UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described as “a grave reminder of the Kremlin’s disregard for innocent lives.”
Rising tensions with Russia are not limited to the intelligence sphere. The Royal Navy recently tracked a Russian submarine through the English Channel—just the latest in a series of encounters that have seen a 30% increase in Russian vessels threatening UK waters over the past two years. While the UK sees these incidents as clear provocations, Russian officials have accused the UK itself of being provocative, underscoring the fraught and unpredictable nature of current relations.
In this climate, British officials have issued stark warnings about the future of European security. Alistair Carns, Minister for Armed Forces, speaking at the launch of the MIS, cautioned that the “shadow of war is knocking on Europe’s door.” He argued that the continent no longer faces “wars of choice,” but instead “wars of necessity.” In an interview with The Telegraph, Carns urged NATO nations to increase their defence spending to “increase our lethality” and reduce dependence on the United States—a sentiment echoed by NATO chief Mark Rutte, who warned in Berlin that the Kremlin could attack an allied country within the next five years. “We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured,” Rutte said, in what many interpreted as a call to arms for the alliance.
Backing up this rhetoric with resources, the UK government has committed to raising defence spending to 2.6% of GDP by 2027, which the MoD says is the largest sustained increase since the end of the Cold War. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Starmer announced a historic pledge to spend 5% of GDP on national security from 2035, along with an extra £5 billion for defence this year alone. These investments are intended to ensure that Britain’s armed forces and intelligence agencies have the tools they need to meet the challenges of the coming decades.
As the UK embarks on this new chapter for its military intelligence, officials are keen to emphasize that much of their work will remain “unseen but always essential.” As Defence Secretary Healey put it, “I am grateful to all our Military Intelligence Services personnel whose round-the-clock vigilance keeps the UK secure at home and strong abroad.” With the stakes higher than ever, the success of the new MIS and its supporting units will be watched closely—not just in Whitehall, but across the world.
