The Ministry of Defence has said it aims to deliver the first elements of its Digital Targeting Web programme this year, describing the capability as an evolving ecosystem rather than a single platform.
In a written parliamentary answer published on 5 February, Defence Minister Luke Pollard responded to Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who asked what timetable the department has set for delivering a minimum viable product for the Digital Targeting Web.
Pollard said: “The Department aims to deliver the first elements of the Digital Targeting Web, or a ‘Minimum Viable Product’, in 2026. Plans will be continually reviewed to respond to emerging threats and adjusted as necessary.” He added that the Digital Targeting Web should not be viewed as a traditional procurement programme with fixed milestones, stating: “The Digital Targeting Web is not a single, discrete system or platform but rather an interconnected ecosystem of systems, processes, and capabilities designed to enhance the UK’s targeting effectiveness.”
Pollard also said development will be “an ongoing, iterative process” to ensure the UK remains competitive in a rapidly evolving operational environment.
The Digital Targeting Web was first announced in the Strategic Defence Review and is intended to link sensors, decision-makers and effectors into a system-of-systems designed to improve battlefield decision-making. The programme is expected to draw on a defence-wide C4ISTAR architecture and is linked to wider digital initiatives across the services.
Speaking previously at DSEI UK 2025, Rear Admiral Paul Stroude, Director of Capability at the UK’s Cyber & Specialist Operations Command, said the Digital Targeting Web must extend across the whole of defence, and outlined priorities including “data-centric security, zero trust architectures, and data gateways” to allow information to flow “at machine speed, securely, and seamlessly across classifications.” Stroude said early minimum viable product priorities would include deployed hosting platforms such as OpNET, as well as integration with frontline command initiatives including the Royal Air Force’s Nexus and the Royal Navy’s Strike Net.
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory has also highlighted its work supporting the programme, including experimentation in reactive intelligence, AI-enabled command and control tools, and the development of interoperability standards such as SAPIENT, which was published as a British Standards Institute standard in 2023.
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Yes, this is a key programme, linking the varied ISTAR chains together. CSOC’s Integrated Cyber EM & Effects Directorate at Northwood has formed to oversee all this, beneath which is the Defence Targeting Enterprise Office. Both fall under the Integrated Warfare Centre.