If the opinions of a group of industrialists, academics and defence analysts is anything to go by, then a good amount of the UK's future defence focus will be in the developing and exporting of specialist technological expertise in software such as cyber security. There is no doubting the rise in the threat of cyber-attacks on every nation state and its economic base. According to Richard Daniel, Chief Executive of Raytheon UK, "the UK understands cyber and retains a good reputation across the international environment." Daniel was speaking at Raytheon UK's technology conference in London at the end of November. The UK government's Trade and Industry (UKTI) organisation is equally keen to offer this expertise around the world and is one of the few budgets in defence that is increasing. Important though cyber is, tough decisions need to be made over the future direction of defence; in fact, those decisions are already tardy in coming.
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