Wes Streeting used a speech in Washington on Wednesday to argue that Britain and its allies must reform procurement as rapidly as technology and battlefield requirements change.
He said the Government also wants to reduce the time needed to adapt existing programmes from three years to one, while completing simpler purchases in less than three months.
Streeting pointed to Project RAVEN, which has moved from conception to contract in four months, as an example of the faster model. The first eight autonomous systems are being acquired for less than $25 million.
The programme combines commercially available technology with defence requirements and is intended to speed the development of uncrewed and AI-enabled systems. The UK is also drawing on operational data and experience from Ukraine.
Streeting linked procurement reform to a wider industrial objective, arguing that defence spending should support British manufacturing, skills and regional growth as well as military capability.
The timetable is a government target rather than a record of completed reform. Its significance will depend on whether departments can shorten approvals while maintaining safety, scrutiny and value for money.
