John Healey to splash £1 BILLION on 'army of hackers' to counter Russia

The investment aims to protect Britain and give the Government the option to launch "teams" on potential threats.

Healey announced Labour will commit a further £1billion into a new "digital targeting web", set to launch by 2027.

This is designed to enable faster battlefield decisions and enhance the connectivity of weapon systems.

The Ministry of Defence stated that the investment can help identify threats using a sensor on a ship or in space, then disable them using a drone or F-35 aircraft.

Healey has promised to give the Armed Forces more power online in this modern age of cyber warfare, warning that "the keyboard has become a weapon of war".

General Sir Jim Hockenhull will lead the command against cyber attacks and coordinate attacks with the national cyber force.

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Healey confirmed the Government is responding after 90,000 cyber attacks from state-linked sources were directed towards the UK's defence over recent years.

He said: "Certainly, the intensity of the cyber attacks that we're seeing from Russia has stepped up, and cyber is now the leading edge, not just of defence, but of contests and tension between countries.

"[There's a] level of cyber warfare that is continual and intensifying."

The command will focus on electromagnetic warfare, which can be used to jam signals on drones or missiles and intercept communications.

The National Cyber Force has conducted hacking operations on behalf of the military over the past five years.

With the new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command, the UK can fight enemies on the web and lead the way in defensive operations.

Further details of Britain's cyber capabilities are classified, but actions by other countries have ranged from spying on officials to installing software that causes machinery to malfunction.

Russia, North Korea, China and Iran are all thought to have hackers working in espionage, aiming to access sensitive information online or conduct cyber attacks.