Driving Integration
Integration is about ensuring Defence can act in a way greater than the sum of its parts, with government, our allies and industry to deliver a desired outcome.
What is Integration?
Integration is about ensuring Defence can act in a way greater than the sum of its parts, with government, our allies and industry to deliver a desired outcome. Due to the modern battlespace being more complex than ever before and the nature of the threats we face, no single military force, government department or single nation can tackle these challenges on their own. Integration must become the default and not a reaction.
This requires a mindset change across Defence and wider government. It will not happen by accident, and Strategic Command as Defence’s integrator is responsible for implementing this change.
Strategic Command and Defence were previously using the term Multi-Domain Integration (MDI), however, they are now moving away from this term with the imperative behind it now captured under Driving Integration within UK Defence Doctrine (JDP 0-01) - 6th Edition.
The UK’s Multi Domain Integration (MDI) Joint Concept Note (JCN1/20) has helped to successfully catalyse the opportunities for Integration across UK Defence, with ‘Driving Integration’ now one of Strategic Command’s three core purposes. Therefore, JCN 1/20 has now been archived, and Defence has now adopted NATO’s term of Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) when operating alongside NATO allies – in turn signalling the support of Strategic Command and wider Defence in helping NATO achieve its vision of becoming an MDO Enabled Alliance by 2030.
The archiving of JCN 1/20 is not the cessation of MDI. The MDI concept remains embedded in UK Defence Doctrine (6th Edition) and the link between MDO and Integrated Action will be made explicit in the next update of UK Defence Doctrine.
Integrated Action is also referenced in the Defence Command Paper 2023, maintaining integration as a key priority for Defence, led by Strategic Command as Defence’s integrator.
There are four levels to driving integration for Defence.
Driving Integration: A UK Strategic Command explainer
Why do we need Integration?
There are four main reasons we must drive integration:
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we face constant threats in the grey zone, below the threshold of traditional conflict. These threats are complex, fast moving and occur daily. These threats are often subtle but are always sophisticated. For more information on this, visit the Strategic Command blog
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the battlespace is broader and more complex than ever before. The space and cyber & electro-magnetic domains are ever more prevalent, and our adversaries are becoming better at integrating their actions within and across these domains – which are being increasingly contested
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there has been an exponential explosion of data. It is challenging to sense, understand and exploit it. But if you can not, you lose
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conflict is increasingly a competition for what people think. Our adversaries target public opinion through disinformation campaigns, and seek to undermine cohesion, and erode our economic, political and social resilience
We remain configured for joint operations, wedded to an era of industrial warfare. We must accelerate our journey to become an integrated force able to both operate and war fight in the information age.
Integration is more than being better at joint operations, it means extending the range of activities available to decision makers, ensuring that any combination of effects works together, and selecting the most appropriate effects to create and exploit vulnerabilities in our adversaries.
This goes beyond equipment and requires a mindset shift. We need to build on our strong culture to start acting, at all levels, demanding more and different solutions to secure strategic advantage.
Integration requires seeing the bigger picture and is as much about working culture as it is capability.
How are we Driving Integration?
The Integration Design Authority (IDA) was launched at DSEI 2023 and is the cornerstone of Strategic Command’s operating model. It will be the focal point to drive the interventions required – from concepts to capability - to achieve Defence’s ambition for an Integrated Force. It will develop a high-level view to provide ‘Integration as a Service’, advising and assuring project level requirements to deliver integrated effects.
The IDA will work to enable integration for Defence, across wider government, with allies, and international partners. It will also lead Strategic Command’s engagement with industry, helping to develop the cutting-edge integrated capabilities required by Defence
Capability
We must ensure that all our equipment and technology can work together, enabling a commander to have a full range of military options and effects available to them which operate, seamlessly together.
Culture, behaviours and mindset
Our people provide an adaptive edge that technology never can. We must change our culture so that we integrate by default at every level, whether procuring or designing equipment, training, monitoring intelligence or developing operational plans.
Education and training
To become an Integrated Force, we must ensure that integration is embedded throughout our training and education packages. This will provide opportunities to understand how our work within Defence, across wider government, with our international partners and allies, as well as both industry and academia, impacts on our ability to drive integration across Defence.
Integration with industry
Due to the quickly changing battlespace we must respond with a new partnership with industry and a focus on delivering integrated outcomes at pace to help secure strategic advantage and interoperable capabilities. This new approach to our relationship with industry will provide us with more flexibility to meet the demand and evolve capabilities.
Exercise and experimentation
We must train our personnel to work together through integrated exercises with wider government and our international partners and allies. Additionally, as we develop military plans and processes, and respond to threats or crises, we must ensure our plans are integrated by default, rather than working with partners ad hoc at the point of need.
Find out more - Driving Integration in action:
Updates to this page
Published 17 January 2022Last updated 27 February 2024 + show all updates
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Information about the move away from the use of the term "Multi-Domain Integration" added
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References to Multi-Domain have been removed. The animation describing the elements of integration has been updated. Information about Culture, Behaviours and Mindset and Integration with Industry added.
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A link to the "Defence’s future strategic leaders find new ways of working" news story has been added.
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Extra links to MDI related news articles added to the find out more section
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Inserted: an updated Strategic Command Explainer video on Multi-Domain Integration under the header 'What is Multi-Domain Integration.' Image two replaced with a new Multi-Domain Integration graphic showing policy and information frameworks. 'Find out more' section updated.
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First published.