How has the Strategic Defence Review impacted MoD sites?

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) announced in June 2025, marked the first time that the UK government has stated at an office level that the country and its allies must be prepared. In doing so, it constituted a transformative moment for UK defence policy, as all 62 recommendations were accepted, and a raft of new measures and facilities were put into action.

A strong emphasis on modernising the armed forces and improving the lived experience of service personnel, combined with a “NATO First” posture, reaffirming the UK’s leadership role in European security and collective defence, means that defence spending will rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with an ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament.

The SDR places unprecedented emphasis on improving service life, with £7 billion pledged for generational renewal of Armed Forces housing, including rapid fixes to poor conditions as well as the largest pay rise in over 20 years for service personnel. This emphasis on lived experience for serving personnel, and their families, is viewed as crucial to the recruitment and retention of Armed Forces staff, and is well evidenced in plans for RAF Lossiemouth.

RAF Lossiemouth

RAF Lossiemouth is one of the UK and NATO’s strategic airbases, positioned to monitor and deter threats from the North East, and compromises one of only two Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) sites in the UK. It is, therefore, a core part of the UK’s air defence strategy.

Lossiemouth additionally hosts four front-line squadrons, operating the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4, as well as No. 8 Squadron, which is set to operate the Royal Air Force’s new fleet of Boeing Wedgetail AEW1 aircrafts, enhancing airborne surveillance and command capabilities.

Going forward, the 2025 SDR places significant emphasis on autonomous aircraft and systems, marking a major shift in the UK approach to air power and defence.

Additional to all the defence system development, the Royal Air Force has committed to an ambitious goal to become the world’s first net zero air force by 2040, a full decade ahead of the broader UK Defence target. This commitment is part of a wider strategy to address climate change while maintaining operational effectiveness.

Thinking about improving service life and reducing emissions in any organisation is a large task, never mind an organisation as large as the Royal Air Force. The task is not a small one with the Strategic Defence Review criticising the "shoddy accommodation" and concluding that improving living standards is "essential" for retention and bring a focus on how this could be rectified. A positive step was the buy-back of 36,000 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) in January 2025 which were sold to a private company in 1996 showing a commitment to take more control and improve these facilities by the MoD. The upcoming Defence Housing Strategy due to be published late 2025 will also provide a much-welcomed forward looking strategy.
 

Where there are large investments such as these, there is an opportunity to combine technologies and interventions in the designs to help achieving their first net zero air force goal, some of the key considerations could be:

• Update policies and regulations.
• Implementing a comprehensive Building Management & Energy Systems (BEMS).
• Upgrading building façade including cladding, windows, doors, roofs to provide a better air tightness/U-Values.
• Implement highly efficient decarbonised heating and hot water systems.
• Install renewable technologies such as Photovoltaics (PV), solar thermal, wind turbine, heat recovery, tidal/hydro generation, and geothermal.
• Install energy storage such as Large Scale Battery System (LSBS), thermal storage, and gravity storage.
• Use of alternative low carbon fuels such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) or BioGas

Sustainability in the Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force aims to eliminate or offset all carbon emissions from its operations by 2040.

Aviation accounts for 75% of Royal Air Force emissions and 50% of the Ministry of Defence’s footprint, making it the biggest challenge.

The Royal Air Force are investing in Aviation Emissions and Fuel Innovation such as:

• Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF): Blends up to 50% of Synthetic Aromatic Distillate (SAD) are now approved for military use. SAD can reduce emissions by up to 18% per 1,000 nautical miles flown.
• Synthetic fuels: under Project MARTIN, the Royal Air Force flew the world’s first microlight aircraft powered solely by synthetic fuel made from CO2 and hydrogen.
• Project TELUM: Aims to deploy a fleet of electric training aircrafts by 2027, showcasing early adoption of zero-emissions propulsion.
• Hydrogen research: Hydrogen is being explored as a long-tern solution, though challenges remain with energy density and cost.

Other opportunities lie within the built estate with in-flight projects such as

• Project VITAL: Focuses on sustainable infrastructure upgrades, including solar, geothermal, and hydrogen energy sources.
• Astra Programme: A 10-year plan to improve accommodation, insulation, and energy efficiency across Royal Air Force bases.

RAF Lossiemouth will be key to the UK’s transition and deployment to this new hardware and new way of working – to quote the Government introduction to the SDR, “whoever gets new technology into the hands of their Arms Forces the quickest will have the advantage.”

Looking forward, we welcome the ambition of the MOD to increase spending and to continue supporting them in their sustainable strategy.