The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled Delivering Security in a Changing World, set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to the immediate challenges to security in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Published under the then Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon, the report effectively introduced a series of cutbacks to core equipment and manpower and the scaling back of a series of future capital procurement projects.
The review also outlined a major restructuring and consolidation of British Army Infantry regiments.
The White Paper, scaling back to an extent from the previous Strategic Defence Review, outlined the following posture for the UK armed forces: Most of the reforms listed below were announced as part of the Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities review, published on 21 July 2004.
British Army Royal Air Force Royal Navy The review also mentioned "significant" classified enhancements of British special forces, including strength increases and investment in new equipment.