The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has selected Google Cloud to provide it with sovereign cloud capabilities worth £400 million.
The agreement will see Google Cloud tasked with providing the Mod with a secure cloud platform that will allow the ministry to take advantage of the flexibility it has been given by using the search giant’s cloud services, but in a way that will be subject to strict data controls.
This is in line with the content of the Strategic Defence Review published in June 2025, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer commissioned to ensure the defence sector has the skills, technology and resources needed to protect national security.
The document talks about how the speed at which the armed forces can “introduce, deploy and use technology” is now being used as another indicator of “military effectiveness”, while also referring to the ministry’s plans to increase the use of the cloud for secure information processing.
James Hockenhull, head of the MOD’s Cyber Crime and Specialist Operations Command, said the partnership forging marks an important next step in the ministry’s wider digital transformation plans.
“The Ministry of Defence is committed to using next-generation technology and AI [artificial intelligence] to enhance our operational capabilities and ensure the security of the UK,” said Hockenhull.
“This partnership is a critical part of our digital transformation strategy, and we are excited to work with Google Cloud to provide a secure and resilient cloud environment for our highly sensitive data.”
John Healey, the Secretary of State for Defence, said the Google deal would also deliver wider benefits beyond those related to digital transformation, including job creation and skills development opportunities, and had the potential to boost the growth of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK’s defence industrial base.
“Today’s investment demonstrates how defence is an engine of growth, supporting highly skilled British jobs and a vibrant British tech startup ecosystem,” he said.
“Secure, seamless communications with our allies are essential to national security, and Google Cloud’s investment will build our world-leading intelligence technology for the future,” Healey said. “The deal also provides the Strategic Defense Review with the ability to help us develop cutting-edge digital technologies to counter our adversaries.”
Strategic agreement
The contract is understood to be the first government deal that Google Cloud has publicly announced since it revealed in July 2025 that it had signed a strategic agreement with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to reduce Whitehall’s reliance on legacy technology providers.
According to data shared weekly by public sector-focused computing analyst House Tussell, Google Cloud has secured two contracts directly with government departments in the past 12 months, before its recent signing with the Mod.
Both are significantly smaller in value than the £400m MOD contract, one awarded in October 2024 by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, worth £869,000, and the other by the Office for National Statistics, which was awarded on December 20 between £393,253 and £2.5m.
Tara Brady, president of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Google Cloud, said the deal was a show of the company’s commitment to supporting the British government’s mission to develop “stable and resilient infrastructure” as a springboard for other forms of innovation.
“This partnership will allow the Mod to accelerate its digital modernization efforts while maintaining the highest levels of security and data sovereignty,” he said.
