British troop levels will shrink to record lows as the Ministry of Defence puts its faith in technology, automation, and cyber and space capabilities in its long-awaited revamp. The Defence Command paper, published yesterday, is billed as the biggest shake-up to the military since the Cold War. The plan includes swarming drones, a new ship for protecting undersea cables, and for the Royal Marines to be re-purposed as a commando-style force deployed overseas in the teeth of geopolitical storms. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that the blueprint, “marks a shift from mass mobilisation to information age speed, readiness, and relevance for confronting the threats of the future.” It comes as part of a broader foreign policy review that includes a pivot towards the pacific and to state-based threats and competition. The Navy and its carriers remain the centre-piece of that pivot to Asia, which was already outlined last week. “The …