The Ministry of Defence is using industry wargaming and scenario planning to test weaknesses in defence supply chains, including their ability to cope with disruption and increase production during periods of greater demand, Defence Minister Luke Pollard has said.
The work was disclosed in a written parliamentary answer to Labour MP Callum Anderson, who asked what discussions the Defence Secretary had held with industry on strengthening supply chain resilience.
Pollard said: “The Ministry of Defence engages regularly with industry to strengthen supply chain resilience through the Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC) Readiness and Resilience Working Group and the Industrial Resilience Programme (IRP).”
Those forums bring government and defence companies together to examine vulnerabilities within the industrial base, including strategic dependencies and the availability of materials needed to sustain defence production. The MOD is also using the Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme alongside exercises intended to test how industrial networks would perform under different pressures.
Pollard stated: “The Department also works closely with industry through the Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme (DSCCP) and a programme of industry wargaming and scenario planning activities.”
The exercises are being used to examine how supply chains respond to stress, where vulnerabilities could restrict the availability of equipment or components, and what measures could improve the ability of industry to increase output when required.
Pollard said: “These engagements help improve understanding of supply chain vulnerabilities, test resilience under a range of stress scenarios, and inform measures to strengthen supply chain visibility, surge capacity and support to Defence operations.”
The reference to surge capacity concerns the ability of the defence industrial base and its suppliers to increase production or support activity above normal peacetime levels when operational demand rises. Critical minerals are also being considered as part of the resilience work. Defence equipment can depend on specialised materials sourced through complex international supply chains, making security of supply one of the issues being examined between the MOD and industry.
