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The update to the UK Government's Defense Command Paper (DCP23), published on 18 July 2023, "takes lessons from the war in Ukraine - and other threats to our security - and sets out a plan to deliver a compelling force that will keep us on track to act as a global heavyweight now and in the future," said the UK MoD press release that preceded the document.

As a direct lesson from the Ukraine war, DCP23 states that the UK will invest £2.5bn (€2.91bn) in UK Armed Forces ammunition stockpiles over the coming decade, on top of the increased investment pledged in the Autumn Declaration and Spring Budget.

The document also states that "the UK Government will increase investment in the resilience and readiness of the UK ammunitions infrastructure [and] will work with industry to make supply chains more resilient and reliable, giving the MoD a secure means to quickly resupply when needed, keep pace with our adversaries and meet operational needs."

The DCP23 follows the Integrated Review 2021, updated in March, which identified Russia as the most acute threat to UK security, identified China as a long-term systemic challenge and predicted a more hostile international system.

The war in Ukraine has certainly made it clear that the gradual reconquest of territories invaded by Russia will require significant numbers of well-equipped artillery forces combined with strong, mobile and determined land forces - a model of warfare dismally similar to that of the First World War.

However, the DCP23 clearly envisages a concept that is more “21st Century” corresponds. It is claimed that the British defense structure will "become a scientific and technological superpower, expanding its capabilities in areas such as robotics, human augmentation, directed energy weapons and advanced materials to gain an advantage on the battlefield".

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