War is a “whole of society endeavour” that will affect citizens as much as the Armed Forces, the strategic defence review is to warn.

Gen Sir Richard Barrons, one of the leaders of the upcoming review, cautioned that war should concern “wider society” and not just those who serve in the British military.

The review will suggest how the military can best meet the challenges and threats of the 21st century.

Speaking before the Commons defence select committee on Tuesday, Sir Richard, who served in the British Army for 40 years, said: “One of the things that underpins this review is we are having to reflect that we have transitioned from an era where war was essentially outsourced to the regular Armed Forces and didn’t really trouble civil society. Now we are in an era where clearly war has returned as a whole of society endeavour.”

He added that while the review, which will be published in spring, would look only at the “defence” aspect of war, there were “many other dependencies” that other departments would need to look at fixing.