Defence ministers say the Government remains on schedule to meet the Strategic Defence Review commitment to produce a UK roadmap for deeper interoperability with NATO allies by January 2026, but the written answers provide limited visibility into how much has actually been done inside the department.
Responding to questions from James Cartlidge, Al Carns stressed that the Review sets a clear direction: UK defence is “NATO First” and the Armed Forces must be able to operate as part of a NATO force “by design”.
He confirmed that NATO itself will publish an Interoperability Plan for the Alliance before the end of the year, and noted that a UK interoperability champion has been appointed within the Military Strategic Headquarters to drive implementation.
On the domestic roadmap, Carns said it is being developed “with and in support of our Integrated Force Design”. That ties the work directly to the wider restructuring of the Armed Forces rather than treating interoperability as an isolated strand of policy.
When asked how many meetings the MOD has held on the roadmap since June, the department said officials “meet regularly” but that the information is “not held in the format requested”. The overall message is that the UK sees the Alliance plan as the anchor, with its own roadmap being shaped around it.
What have I missed here? Whenever have we NOT been NATO first and embedded very deeply in NATO planning?