The Ministry of Defence has formally launched a new Military Intelligence Services organisation, bringing together intelligence units from across the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force into a single structure, as part of reforms set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the department stated.
The new Military Intelligence Services, or MIS, consolidates defence intelligence functions under one organisation for the first time, with the aim of speeding up how information is collected, analysed and shared across the Armed Forces. According to the Ministry of Defence, the change is intended to improve the UK’s ability to anticipate and respond to a growing range of threats, including cyber activity, interference with satellites, disruption to shipping lanes and disinformation campaigns.
Alongside MIS, the MOD has also stood up a new Defence Counter-Intelligence Unit, or DCIU, which will bring together counter-intelligence specialists from across defence. The department said hostile intelligence activity directed at the MOD has increased by more than 50% over the past year, prompting a need for a more integrated response.
The new organisations were launched at the Wyton intelligence site in Cambridgeshire, which houses a large intelligence fusion centre handling classified material shared among Five Eyes partners. The Military Intelligence Services will operate under Cyber and Specialist Operations Command, led by the Chief of Defence Intelligence, and will integrate intelligence from land, sea, air, space and cyberspace, according to the department.
Defence Secretary John Healey said the changes were intended to improve how defence intelligence functions in a more contested environment. “As threats increase, we are making defence intelligence smarter,” he said, adding that the reforms would provide “cutting-edge technology, clearer structures and faster data flows” to give earlier warning of potential threats.
General Sir Jim Hockenhull, Commander of Cyber and Specialist Operations Command, described the creation of MIS and the DCIU as a significant step in strengthening the UK’s ability to anticipate hostile activity. “Intelligence sits at the heart of defence,” he said, noting that intelligence operations run continuously and underpin military activity across all domains.
According to the MOD, the Defence Counter-Intelligence Unit will focus on protecting sensitive defence capabilities, including the nuclear deterrent, advanced technology programmes and critical infrastructure, while working more closely with UK intelligence agencies and NATO partners.
The launch follows the publication of the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry, which highlighted how foreign intelligence services are increasingly targeting defence personnel, supply chains and industrial partners. The government has framed the reforms as part of a wider effort to modernise defence, alongside increased defence spending commitments announced earlier this year.