Corps Vision

By Master of Signals, Lt Gen Sharon Nesmith.   -

In January 2024 I will formally launch a new Vision for the Corps. It was tested and discussed at the Corps Conference in 2023, and widely circulated for feedback from industry and Royal Corps of Signals stakeholders, both serving and retired. The Vision seeks to articulate who we are, what we are, what we do and how we do it, whilst recognising the diversity of our employment. It will help the Corps to drive meaningful strategic conversation and identify key risks, to enable action led by our commanders. Most importantly, the Vision aims to be relatable to every member of our Corps, from Signaller to Brigade Commander. It will allow our people to understand where they fit into the enduring functions, how Credibility and Agility drive behaviours and how Decision Advantage can be achieved through their outputs. 

It reflects our Vision for 2033 and how and why we need to adapt over the next decade. In an ever more challenging and complex environment, it seeks to double down on our core functions – what are we here for, and why.

Enduring global conflicts, including Ukraine’s plight, permit us insight into the battlefield of 2033; data driven, hyper-connected, characterised by the proliferation of military and commercial sensors and effectors from which to find and hide, with Space, Cyber and disinformation a fundamental and central tenet of the complexity of war.

To win we must execute quicker and more effective decisions than our adversary. The ability to access and exploit secure data, communications and the electromagnetic spectrum in innovative ways at speed, utilising information services delivered by new and everchanging software and hardware technologies will be vital. So too, our ability to inhibit our adversaries’ digital and decision ability. The spectrum will be ferociously contested. Networks will be a critical dependency and vulnerability. We must be capable of adapting across conventional, unconventional, new and old technologies to deliver those secure information services exploiting immense trusted data, ensuring our resilient networks, and exploiting those of our adversary.

By 2033, R SIGNALS will be increasingly pivotal in generating the tempo necessary to win. Current roles endure and evolve, whilst new roles emerge, but our importance in the fight is only set to increase. The ability to quickly adapt, assimilate and interoperate, delivers advantage. It will enhance our relevance in the fight, trusted by those we fight with, and will enhance our professional credibility.

Founded on seven enduring functions across which we must be faster and better than our enemy:

We understand all aspects of communication technology, relevant doctrine, electromagnetic spectrum, and the electronic threat environment; this is the foundation for our credibility and ensures relevance.

We advise and support commanders and their staff in combat, operate activity and in barracks.

We collaborate with allies, industry, academia, the other services and across our whole Corps.

We plan credible and realistic solutions to achieve the commander’s intent and outpace our adversary’s decision making.

We deliver solutions enabling electronic protection and increased survivability of the deployed force and communication networks to distribute data and information to users and intelligence to commanders.

We assure our missions to provide confidence in our services.

We exploit the electromagnetic spectrum and cyberspace to gain decision advantage.

Our vision: Credible and Agile

An agile Corps, with enduring credibility, fighting for decision advantage within a contested physical, cyber, and electromagnetic environment and complex technology landscape.

Credibility underpinned by technical mastery and military professionalism. We must position at the leading edge of digital and data knowledge, skills, and expertise, in order to deliver under the harshest of conditions. Credibility will ensure we remain relevant to the future fight and trusted to deliver. Credibility is also the foundation for agility.

Agility is achieved through learning, unlearning and relearning knowledge and skills. It underpins our ability to adapt, rejecting preconceptions, embracing disruptive technology, and developing entirely new ways of operating. Agility will form the bedrock of our self-confidence.

Our Focus is therefore investment in our people.

-           Continued modernisation of our individual technical education and skills will ensure we have the necessary talent and expertise in engineering and leadership.

-           Harder and more realistic collective training, acknowledging the need to try new ideas, fail fast and fail safe in order to learn, will cultivate the imagination and innovation needed to be agile.

-           Fostering a diverse and inclusive Corps maximising our access to talent. This creative, integrated, and competitive workforce will deliver enhanced perspectives for optimal decision advantage.