From Dependency to Deterrence: Why Supply Chains Matter to NATO and the UK

Daniel Frampton | 7th July 2026 | Defence, Editor's Pick
Photo by Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images
Photo by Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images

With the NATO summit in Ankara today, our defence expert Dr Daniel Frampton argues that supply chains have become a strategic asset for the NATO Alliance.

Modern wars are not sustained by battlefield brilliance or Schlieffen-like sweeps across broad landscapes alone. They depend on the uninterrupted flow of components, raw materials and industrial capacity that make military production possible in the first place. Supply chains have therefore become strategic in their own right. What once appeared to be a technical question of procurement is now central to deterrence, alliance management and national security planning. This is particularly visible in the defence sector, where supposedly inexpensive and disposable technologies such as drones rely on highly complex global networks for motors, batteries, semiconductors and rare earth elements. The same is true, on a larger scale, for advanced platforms such as fighter aircraft, naval vessels and missile systems. As recent analysis has argued, “the component is the battlefield”: control over these inputs and production networks may shape—and even decide—wars in the twenty-first century and b...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



The Mace Defence Special Report: Experts warn we have fallen behind our NATO allies

Daniel Frampton | July 7, 2026

With the NATO Summit in Turkey, our defence expert Dr Daniel Frampton looks at whether the UK is bringing enough security and spending to the table.

Industry Reacts: Burnham’s ambitious housebuilding plans  

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | July 2, 2026

Andy Burnham has promised the ‘biggest rebalancing of power our country has ever seen’. The Mace investigates what industry insiders think of his vision.

UK’s £4.7 billion Defence black hole: Dan Jarvis is inheriting a defence settlement Britain can no longer afford

Mace Magazine | July 1, 2026

Britain cannot afford to fall behind its NATO allies on defence spending, writes Jasset Harlech.

Keir Starmer resigns as Prime Minister as Labour prepares for Burnham succession

Emelia Wild | June 22, 2026

Sir Keir Starmer has announced that he will resign as Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party, triggering a leadership process that now looks increasingly likely to

Holiday tax will ruin the English Summer

Mace | May 23, 2026

Despite the new 5% VAT tax break for holiday attractions, tourism trade body leaders are speaking out about how government policies may not help the sector.

Did a “boys club” culture of Downing Street lead to the appointment of Peter Mandelson ?

Mace | April 29, 2026

Keir Starmer's "boys club" culture was called out during the grilling of Morgan McSweeney.

With Greens polling second, will May 7th be execution day?

William Cash | March 14, 2026

The Greens surge into second place in the polls confirms that the two-party system is no longer fit for purpose. But can Starmer and Badenoch survive execution on

Deliverance Day: Meet Starmer’s Mr Fixer-in-Chief

William Cash | March 11, 2026

Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the PM, has released the first tranche of the Mandelson Files to the Commons. In an exclusive, he tells The Mace that his

Magic mountain

William Cash | January 25, 2022

Why reports of the death of Davos Man are exaggerated