In February 2026, Singapore hosted the Defence Cyber Marvel 2026, an international cybersecurity exercise organized by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (Cyber & Specialist Operations Command) with participation from partner nations. The event brought together more than 2,500 participants from 29 countries.
The exercises focused on complex cyber defense scenarios, simulating attacks on military command systems, cloud environments, and critical infrastructure segments. The goal was to enhance the capabilities of the UK and partner nations in responding to multi-layered cyberattacks and to improve the practical application of advanced technologies, including AI and machine learning, in threat detection and analysis.
A joint team composed of Ukrainian Armed Forces cyber specialists and personnel from the UK’s 21st Signal Regiment finished second among 36 teams. The result reflected a well-balanced operational model: the UK team provided communication resilience and process coordination, while Ukrainian cyber experts led the technical core, including defense strategy development, cyber threat intelligence, attack detection and containment, compromised system analysis, and the preparation of structured technical reports.
Officials noted that the collaboration’s success stemmed from complementary approaches. Ukraine brought experience from responding to real-world cyberattacks amid ongoing cyber aggression, enabling rapid decision-making and adaptability to changing scenarios. The UK team applied standardized process management and procedural discipline. This synchronization ensured infrastructure stability during active attack phases and high performance throughout all exercise stages.
Participation in Defence Cyber Marvel 2026 allowed Ukraine to integrate its operational experience into a multinational environment and test it against international assessment standards. Practices developed by the Ukrainian cyber units are considered highly valuable for partners and contribute to strengthening collective cyber resilience.
