The UK has been too complacent over potential war threats, the boss of defence contractor BAE Systems has warned.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Dr Charles Woodburn cautioned that the threat of conflict is the highest it has been in his lifetime but welcomed recent increases in defence spending.
However, he warned that modern warfare had changed "quite profoundly", and UK spending had to change too to keep up with the use of autonomous drones used frequently in the Ukraine-Russia war.
He said: "It's something that we now have to really understand and make sure that we're able to provide the capabilities that can counter that and deter aggression."
BAE Systems unveiled a model of an unmanned fighter jet in front of the new Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, four of which would theoretically accompany a manned jet to increase firepower at a reduced cost.
Discussing the threat level in the UK, Woodburn said: "This is by far the most threatening time I've seen.
"Even when I joined the company in 2016 I was amazed at what we saw Russian submarines doing, the cyber attacks. I think that's come a long way sadly as a result of the Ukraine conflict we're much more aware of the proximity of a hot war in Europe."
Read the full BBC piece here.