The First Sea Lord did not offer a speech so much as a demand. Speaking in London, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins sketched a world sliding toward harder edges and made plain that the Royal Navy must change faster than the threats gathering around it.
The language was clear, almost stark. The constants of the maritime world endure, he said, but the margin of advantage does not.
He began with the basics because the basics matter, Britain’s survival still rests on open sea lanes, and he reminded the room that “virtually all our trade, virtually all our data and virtually all our energy flows either above, on, or under the sea.” The Atlantic remains the nation’s shield, and geography still fixes the burden on the Royal Navy. The Norwegian coast is a hinge of NATO’s defence. The UK sits at “the cornerstone of access to the Atlantic.”
Where the tone shifted was on threat, Russia’s maritime activity has surged and not only on the surface. Jenkins warned that “the advantage that we have enjoyed in the Atlantic since the end of the Second World War is at risk” and that “what’s going on under the waves” is the real concern. The picture he painted is of a Navy still holding the line, but only just. “There is no room for complacency.” Britain’s adversaries are investing heavily and “we have to step up or we will lose that advantage.”
In the middle of this rising uncertainty, the conference itself felt unusually purposeful. Officers, officials and industry leaders spoke with a shared acknowledgement of threat and a shared urgency about what must come next. The conversations had a stripped back quality that matched the First Sea Lord’s tone. Participants were seeking each other’s views openly and without theatre, recognising that the window for incrementalism has passed. The mood was not pessimistic.
But, back to the speech, the other accelerant mentioned is technology. He described it as running faster than any planner can predict, with advances in artificial intelligence outpacing expectations. His conclusion was direct. “The pace of technological change will never, ever be as slow again as it is today.” The Navy must therefore design itself for speed, adaptiveness, and relevance.
From this came his central pitch, the warfighting hybrid navy. Three linked concepts form its core. Atlantic Bastion, a web of autonomous sensors acting as persistent eyes and ears. Atlantic Shield, a reworking of northern air defence. Atlantic Strike, a sharpened ability to hit back with force.
He pushed the urgency. Early autonomous escorts will go into the water within two years. A fast jet drone demonstrator will fly from a carrier next year. Norway has already committed to plugging its new Type 26 frigates into Bastion. And he insisted that this is not abstract. “If this all sounds like science fiction, it is not. It is science fact.”
Next year, the Royal Navy expects sensors in the Atlantic and the issuing of Bastion contracts as a service. The commando force will complete its shift to dispersed, technology-enabled teams built for the High North. And several transformations already underway will accelerate under the Warfighting Ready Plan 2029, which he launched on stage. The plan, he said, is built on extensive wargaming to understand where the Navy is strong and where allies must fill the gaps. It demands discarding legacy structures and embracing new approaches.
Leadership and culture were central. He argued that warfighting is “a discipline for action” and that the Navy must unshackle itself from processes slowing it down. He pointed to 200,000 saved person-hours by stripping back bureaucracy in the past 100 days. That time, he said, must now be reinvested in readiness.
But the message threaded through the entire speech was dependence on partners. Industry is already co-investing at a striking scale, with Jenkins noting that “for every pound we have invested, industry has invested four.” Allies are vital. “We need other allies,” he said. Only together can the UK protect undersea cables, energy routes and supply lines.
His closing was both warning and rallying cry. “We are moving out because we have no choice. The alternative is not worth thinking about.” Ready or not, the Navy is being pushed into a period defined by speed, mass, autonomy and risk.
And the First Sea Lord wants nothing less.
A very busy George this week, it would seem.
Shuttling back and forth from London to Rosyth must be quite tiring!
General Sir Gwyn Jenkins is shaping up to be the best 1SL for decades. He is trying to do important stuff genuinely quickly using as seed corn the tiny budgets (£10 million?) that he can personally sign-off on, rather than just following glacial MOD and Treasury budgetary processes where he will have long retired before any approval is likely. Hopefully Healey is backing him hard, or the blob will still win.
He’ll resign soon