Britain to Hold Biggest Defence Drill to Test Hybrid Attack Readiness in Decades
Britain Prepares for Hybrid Threats with Major Defence Exercise
Overview of the Upcoming Defence Drill
LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it would carry out its biggest home defence exercise in decades next year, seeking to test its ability to counter hybrid threats such as cyberattacks, disinformation and sabotage of critical infrastructure.
Context: Rising Tensions and Accelerated Preparations
Britain and European allies have rapidly accelerated defence preparations since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, with NATO warning that Moscow could be ready to attack Europe by 2030. Britain has said Russia has stepped up hybrid threats — from physical and cyberattacks to information warfare.
Details of the Exercise
While the drill scenario would be kept secret, the government said it would test Britain's readiness for hybrid attacks and complement a NATO crisis-management exercise designed to test how allies coordinate political and military responses to major security crises.
The multi-day exercise would involve ministers and hundreds of officials from across government and the public sector, senior minister Darren Jones said on Tuesday.
Updated Threat Assessment
Newly Identified Risks
Britain also updated its official list of the biggest threats it faces, adding attempts to interfere with democracy, such as election interference, disinformation campaigns or foreign influence operations.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Vulnerabilities
Overall, seven new risks were added, including cyberattacks on data infrastructure, water infrastructure and police systems, and a "digital resilience failure" risk based on lessons from the CrowdStrike outage in 2024, which crashed more than 8 million Microsoft Windows-based computers worldwide.
Public Awareness and Emergency Preparedness
The government said it would also launch a national public awareness campaign later this year to encourage households to prepare for emergencies such as severe weather, flooding and cyberattacks.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; editing by William James)
