HILEX Advisory exists to reconnect today’s security and resilience community with the lessons of the Cold War. For nearly half a century, NATO nations prepared meticulously for a war that never came — developing detailed plans to mobilise entire societies in days, protect civilian populations, and sustain government through crisis. In the UK, these preparations were embodied in the ‘War Book’: a comprehensive framework to transition from peacetime democracy to a fully mobilised nation. Every aspect of life — from food supply and communications to civil defence and governance — was planned in extraordinary detail. When the Cold War ended, these systems and much of the knowledge behind them were rapidly dismantled. Civil defence networks, warning systems, protected sites and stockpiles disappeared, replaced by the efficiencies of Just in Time. The result is a modern resilience gap — one that is being felt ever more keenly as tensions between NATO and Russia re-emerge.
Who we are
HILEX Advisory was founded to help bridge that gap. We research, interpret and apply lessons from Cold War-era planning to today’s challenges — offering insight, advice and guidance to government, industry and civil society on how to strengthen resilience and continuity if crisis or conflict comes again.
What drives us
Our mission is simple: to learn from the past, to prepare for the future.
What We Do
At HILEX Advisory, we help organisations understand today’s security and resilience challenges through the lens of history. By examining how governments, militaries and societies prepared for crisis during the Cold War, we draw out lessons that can inform stronger, more resilient decision-making in the 21st century.
Talk to HILEX Advisory
If you’re responsible for resilience, continuity, protective security or crisis communication — and you want Cold War realism instead of corporate theatre — we should talk.