The Digital Targeting Web: Rewiring UK Defence for Machine-Speed Warfare

Overview

In modern conflict, the side that can complete the cycle from sensing a threat to engaging it fastest holds a decisive advantage. The Digital Targeting Web — DTW — is the UK MOD’s most ambitious attempt to rewire Defence for that reality. Set to underpin lethal, integrated and deterrent operations across all domains by 2027, DTW is the digital command, targeting and decision-support system that will connect every sensor, every decision-maker and every effector in the UK’s arsenal into a single, real-time web of data and action.

The concept is deceptively simple but extraordinarily challenging to deliver. DTW orchestrates the real-time connection and analysis of data from sensors — ships, submarines, aircraft, space assets and cyber capabilities — to “deciders” — commanders, AI-enabled operations centres and digital warfighters — and on to effectors — platforms such as F-35, drones, offensive cyber, artillery and joint assets. The process of sensor-to-decider-to-effector is orchestrated by a Defence-wide Secret Cloud and advanced data fabric, ensuring that every action is based on the latest multi-domain battlefield data and AI-driven analytics.

DTW is not a single platform or piece of software. It is a digital ecosystem — leveraging the MOD’s Digital Backbone for common infrastructure, the Digital Foundry for AI and data exploitation, and radical data management reforms to shift Defence from static, platform-centric operations to a world where sensors, applications, data and operational intelligence are fused for machine-speed decision-making. Its success relies on full digital transformation and cloud integration, with the Secret Cloud minimum viable product deployment targeted for 2026 and full DTW fielding by 2027.

Strategic Purpose and Objectives

From Siloed Systems to a Unified Kill Web

DTW’s central purpose is to transform how the UK identifies, decides upon and engages targets. Traditional targeting processes are slow, siloed and dependent on legacy communications that struggle to keep pace with the tempo of modern warfare. DTW replaces this with a real-time, dynamic, machine-speed decision and action cycle that spans all domains — land, sea, air, space and cyber. It enables multi-domain operations, joint and coalition command, proactive defence and rapid response to threats at a speed and scale that current systems cannot achieve.

The web is supported by a machine-learning-infused synthetic training regime, digital twins and predictive analytics, all integrated within the broader Digital Ecosystem. DTW forms the operational heart of deterrence and lethality — choosing, acting on and monitoring effects at speed. It aligns with the Defence Data Strategy and embeds force-wide education in data literacy and digital acumen, requiring a new cadre of Digital Warfighters skilled in data, analytics, AI, command and control, and cyber operations.

Game-changing AI and machine learning exploitation is central to DTW’s concept of operations. Interoperability across all services and coalition partners is baked in from the outset, ensuring that the UK can fight effectively alongside allies in any scenario. DTW is foundational for the Integrated Force Model and sits at the heart of the MOD’s 2027 digital mission — the deadline by which Defence must demonstrate that it can operate as a truly integrated, data-centric force.

Budget and Financial Structure

Programme Value

DTW does not carry a single, discrete public budget figure. It forms part of the MOD’s multi-year digital transformation and Secret Cloud investments, underpinned by the Defence Digital annual spend of over £2 billion. Associated investment includes Secret Cloud contracts, AI exploitation and digital skills upskilling, and infrastructure and development pipeline allocations. Individual enabler contracts provide a sense of scale: the £400 million Google sovereign cloud contract awarded in 2025, £211 million in cloud contracts between 2020 and 2023, and £30–£60 million in Secret IT contracts.

Budget Division and Holder

MOD Defence Digital provides strategic leadership, funding and architecture for DTW and the wider Digital Backbone. Supported by MOD Commercial, the Defence Data Strategy Programme Office, Strategic Command, the Digital Warfighter Skills Programme and corporate and operational IT and AI teams. Budget holder responsibility is shared between Defence Digital, the Digital Foundry, the Defence Data and AI office, and operational command and targeting leads across the RAF, Royal Navy and Army.

Procurement and Acquisition

Acquisition Pipeline

DTW is tracked as a central MOD digital mission and integrated acquisition objective. It encompasses Secret Cloud, Digital Backbone, targeting and battle management systems, AI data fabric and multi-domain synthetic training. Procurement milestones and contract phases align to the Defence Sourcing Portal, MOD pipeline and skilled workforce transformation plans. Key framework agreements include G-Cloud, Cloud Compute 2 and TS3.

Tender Information

The target is minimum viable product delivery by 2026 through the Secret Cloud and data fabric, with initial operational capability. The full system is expected to be fielded by 2027. Landmark contracts supporting the DTW include the Google £400 million sovereign cloud award in 2025, ongoing NEXUS cloud-hosted decision systems running from 2023 to 2026, Secret IT system services entering the procurement pipeline in 2024, and MODCloud OFFICIAL public cloud services operational since 2020. Workforce and operational skill development contracts are ongoing, with future AI, data and decision support contracts expected as DTW expands.

Why It Matters

DTW is mission-defining for UK Defence. It represents the most fundamental change in how the UK targets, decides and acts since the introduction of network-enabled capability a generation ago. In a world where adversaries are investing heavily in their own sensor-to-shooter networks, the ability to complete the targeting cycle faster — and across multiple domains simultaneously — is not an aspiration but a strategic necessity. Without DTW, the UK risks operating with a slower decision cycle than its opponents, with all the consequences that implies for deterrence and operational effectiveness.

The programme also drives a broader cultural transformation within Defence. The concept of the Digital Warfighter — personnel trained in data, AI, analytics and cyber alongside their operational specialisms — is inseparable from DTW’s success. The MOD is investing in force-wide data literacy and digital skills precisely because DTW demands them. This is not just a technology programme; it is a people programme that will reshape how the UK’s armed forces think, train and fight.

For industry, DTW signals enormous and sustained demand for cloud infrastructure, AI and machine learning, data engineering, secure networking, synthetic environments and digital skills. The £400 million Google sovereign cloud contract is just the most visible example of an investment trajectory that will generate opportunities for years to come. Companies with expertise in SECRET-level cloud, data fabric, AI-enabled decision support, sensor integration and digital training will find DTW and its enabling programmes among the most significant addressable markets in UK defence. The emphasis on open architectures and interoperability creates space for innovative companies alongside established primes — making DTW a programme that rewards capability and agility in equal measure.

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