Peers have warned the Government must go further and faster to prepare Britain for war within 1,000 days, saying the way the Ministry of Defence buys equipment is too slow and too rigid to meet the threat.

The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee published its report, Ready for action in 1,000 days? Forging a new partnership between Government and the defence industry, on Wednesday 11 November 2026. It calls for a closer partnership between the Government and defence firms, less prescriptive rules and more support for smaller suppliers.

The committee warned that if the Government sticks to its current arm's-length, buyer-seller relationship with industry, delivering against detailed and prescriptive technical specifications, industry will not be able to move quickly enough to exploit fast-developing technology or to protect the UK in the event of war.

What the committee found

The peers said investors must be given more certainty about the timing and nature of contracts so that money can flow into defence manufacturing. They also urged regulators to strip away overly prescriptive rules, arguing that red tape has slowed procurement without clearly reducing waste.

The committee welcomed the Government's adoption of the 2025 Strategic Defence Review's recommendation for a new partnership with industry. Its chair, Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town, said the review had called for a new relationship between government and the defence industry to reflect the urgency of rebuilding the UK's defence strength, given the challenges and the changing nature of warfare shown by the war in Ukraine.

The report also comes against a difficult record on delivery. The National Audit Office has found that ten of the Ministry of Defence's 32 most significant capability programmes required urgent action or were unlikely to meet their planned schedules, with only five considered likely to be delivered on time.

The 1,000-day deadline

The 1,000-day figure comes from Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, who said in October that Russia's growing force strength and war economy could put it in a position to attack by 2030. He said that gave Britain a little over 1,000 days to complete its mission: to be ready with its allies to fight and win.

Chancellor John Healey committed the Government to spending 3 per cent of economic output on defence by 2030 in his November budget, with next year's spending review due to plot a course to reach the target. Giving evidence to the committee in October, Mr Streeting said just short of £300 billion would be spent over the next four years, including £250 million for five defence growth deals and £182 million for defence skills programmes.

What happens next

The committee said a significant shift in culture was needed in how the Ministry of Defence works with industry, moving from a narrow transactional approach to a genuine partnership. Its recommendations focus on giving firms clearer demand signals, opening contracts to smaller companies and allowing equipment to be adapted more quickly as technology changes.

The findings add to pressure on ministers over how the defence ambitions will be funded and delivered, with the Government's stated aim of being ready for conflict by 2030 now less than four years away.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 1,000 days target? It is the timetable set by Defence Secretary Wes Streeting for Britain to be ready, with its allies, to fight and win a war by 2030, when he said Russia could be in a position to attack.

What did the Lords committee recommend? It urged the Government to build a closer partnership with defence industry, cut overly prescriptive procurement rules, give investors more certainty over contracts and give smaller firms better access to defence work.