Willis Launches Global Defense Security Initiative
The new service offers risk advisory and cyber expertise to address growing industrial vulnerabilities and rising sector spending.
Updated on Oct. 26, 2026 in Cybersecurity
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Willis, a business of WTW, has launched a global Defense and Security initiative to provide specialized risk advisory and cyber security expertise. The new service aims to address rising operational and security risks as the global defense sector enters a significant investment cycle.
Why it matters
With global military spending hitting $2.9 trillion in 2025, defense organizations are facing mounting pressure to secure increasingly complex industrial and cyber supply chains. This initiative consolidates fragmented risk management services to help firms navigate a sector where acquisition programs now span over 12 years.
The initiative addresses an environment where 1,032 unresolved security vulnerabilities persist at cleared contractor facilities. These risks complicate the sector's delivery timelines, which currently average 12 years for major U.S. defense acquisition programs.
The players
Willis
A business of WTW that provides risk advisory, cyber security, and capital management services for large-scale industrial and defense clients.
Jennifer Caldarella
The leader appointed to manage the new global Defense and Security initiative.
The details
The platform functions by integrating cross-disciplinary expertise in risk engineering, operational resilience, workforce risk, and capital advisory. It provides firms with a unified approach to risk transfer and crisis management, essential as industrial bases face high-stakes security oversight. This is designed to mitigate the vulnerabilities reported by U.S. defense industrial security oversight, which recorded 815 specific security violations during the 2025 financial year.
Timeline
2024: The world's 100 largest arms-producing companies generated $679 billion in revenue.
2025 financial year: US defence industrial security oversight recorded 815 security violations.
September 2025: Start of the window for 1,032 unresolved security vulnerabilities at cleared contractor facilities.
2025: Global military expenditure reached nearly $2.9 trillion.
2035: Global military expenditure is projected to reach $4.7 to $6.6 trillion.
The Tech Race
This initiative attempts to capture market share in a defense sector projected to grow from $2.9 trillion in 2025 to up to $6.6 trillion by 2035. It follows the persistent challenges in U.S. defense industrial security oversight data, which highlighted over 1,000 unresolved vulnerabilities.
Organizations within the defense industrial base can immediately leverage this platform to conduct risk audits and integrate security protocols. The service aims to bridge the gap between long-term 12-year acquisition cycles and immediate operational threats like the 1,032 currently tracked security vulnerabilities.
The takeaway
As global military expenditure trends toward a potential $6.6 trillion by 2035, the ability to manage industrial security will become a primary competitive differentiator. Stakeholders should monitor the frequency of security violations in future industrial oversight reports to measure the efficacy of these new advisory services.
Further reading
For broader trends in enterprise defense and operational resilience, see our coverage in Cybersecurity.
Source note: This article includes information reported by ReinsuranceNe.
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