A Defence Review is the process by which government of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

decides upon its overall defence policy and upon the means and resources devoted to achieving its defence objectives. Such reviews can happen when political or economic factors dictate, such as upon a change of

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

. The Defence Review will normally result in the publication of a policy document, styled a

White Paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white pape ...

and released to parliament as a Command paper, setting out the broad aims, objectives, and rationale for the policy and strategy.

Post World War II Defence Reviews

The United Kingdom governmental carries out Defence Reviews infrequently, usually upon a change of government or major political event, such as just after the Collapse of Communism. They can also be necessitated by economic crises, as in 1974 and 2010. British Defence Reviews since the end of World War II include: * The Harwood Review, 1949 (Labour). This was neither announced nor published. It was an attempt by Labour to keep the defence estimates at an average of £700 million a year over 1950-1951-1952. It was discarded when the Korean War broke out in June 1950 leading to rearmament. * The Chiefs of Staff Report on Defence Policy and Global Strategy, 1952. The Chiefs stressed to the Conservative government the primacy of the Cold War threat, stating, "The Free World is menaced everywhere by the implacable and unlimited aims of Soviet Russia." Predicting a prolonged Cold War it urged three priorities: action to win the Cold War, deterring the Cold War, preparing for war. *

1957 Defence White Paper The 1957 White Paper on Defence (Cmnd. 124) was a British white paper issued in March 1957 setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected w ...

foreshadowed the end of national service, cut conventional forces, relied more on nuclear deterrence. *

1966 Defence White Paper The 1966 Defence White Paper (Command Papers 2592 and 2901) was a major review of the United Kingdom's defence policy initiated by the Labour government under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The review was led by the Secretary of State for Defence, ...

canceled the BAC TSR2 strike and reconnaissance warplane as a replacement for V-bombers; announced plan to purchase American

F-111 The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included ground attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons ca ...

warplanes instead. * 1968 Healy, Mark II, announced a withdrawal from East of Suez, and cancellation of orders for F111. * 1974 Defence White Paper (also known as the Mason review) labor announced plans to concentrate on NATO central front, anti-submarine warfare, home defense, and nuclear deterrence, with a resumption of cuts to forces East of Suez after a hiatus on such cuts from 1970 to 1974 during the Heath Government. * 1981 Defence White Paper (also known as the

John Nott Sir John William Frederic Nott (born 1 February 1932) is a former British Conservative Party politician. He was a senior politician of the late 1970s and early 1980s, playing a prominent role as Secretary of State for Defence during the 1982 in ...

review) * 1990

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces, ...

* 1994 Front Line First * 1998

Strategic Defence Review The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of ...

Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 was announced by the newly formed Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of the United Kingdom in May 2010, and published on 19 October 2010. The previous major review of UK defence strateg ...

* Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 * 2021 Integrated Review and

Defence in a Competitive Age ''Defence in a Competitive Age'' is a Ministry of Defence command paper which was released on 22 March 2021. It provided details on changes to the armed forces to meet the requirements of the Integrated Review which was published before it on 16 ...

Other Defence Policy Statements

United Kingdom governments have also conducted policy reviews which cover specific aspects of defence but do not purport to be fundamental reappraisals of overall defence policy and strategy. Examples of these include: * Front Line First * SDR New Chapter *

Delivering Security in a Changing World The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled ''Delivering Security in a Changing World'', set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to t ...

* Defence Industrial Strategy

Comparison with the United States

The main difference between the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence and the United States Department of Defense as pertains to the review cycle is frequency. The U.S. DoD carries out its review, styled the

Quadrennial Defense Review The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) was a study by the United States Department of Defense that analyzes strategic objectives and potential military threats. The ''Quadrennial Defense Review Report'' was the main public document describing the Uni ...

, on a set four-year cycle, whereas the UK MoD has no set timetable for any such review.

Post World War II Defence Reviews

Other Defence Policy Statements

Comparison with the United States

References

Further reading