Participants are working through a scenario that requires a prolonged surge in demand for key military equipment. The exercise is designed to identify potential supply constraints and assess what measures government and industry can take to reduce risks.
The findings are expected to directly influence defence policy and help ensure the UK Armed Forces can access equipment and supplies when required. The exercise builds on a previous wargame held in December 2024 that tested ammunition and equipment supplies under wartime conditions.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard said the exercise reflected the need for faster responses to a more volatile global security environment. “Defence needs to be able to move fast to respond to an increasingly unpredictable and dangerous world. This means not just having the right capabilities, but ensuring our supply chains are resilient, responsive and able to sustain operations over time. Activities like this wargame are essential to strengthening that readiness.”
The Ministry of Defence said lessons from the exercise would support ongoing policy and legislative work linked to the Strategic Defence Review and the Defence Industrial Strategy. Those initiatives aim to improve defence readiness and strengthen domestic supply chains in critical sectors.
The Defence Industrial Strategy outlines plans to diversify suppliers and create greater opportunities for smaller and innovative companies to support the armed forces. The Strategic Defence Review also commits the UK to rapidly expanding sovereign industrial capability during periods of crisis.
Rupert Pearce said closer cooperation between government and industry remained a priority. “MOD is prioritising more meaningful collaboration with companies of all sizes to meet the challenge of supporting our Armed Forces with the kit and equipment they need. Supply Chain wargaming plays a critical role by bringing MOD and industry together to test assumptions, identify opportunities to improve readiness and ensure that our plans can be delivered in practice.”
The government said the initiative is supported by what it described as the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War. Defence spending is set to rise to 2.6% of gross domestic product from 2027.
