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Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Crucial defence review warns Britain's Armed Forces aren't ready to fight a war against a foe with similar capabilities in stark assessment of UK's military prowess
Britain's Armed Forces aren't ready to fight a war against a military with similar capabilities, the authors of Britain's Strategic Defence Review have warned. In a stark assessment, the report said that our forces are better suited 'to a peacetime era' and are 'not currently optimised for warfare against a 'peer' military state'. The externally-led Strategic Defence Review (SDR), written by former Nato secretary general Lord Robertson, retired general Sir Richard Barrons and Russia expert Fiona Hill, was described as the most profound change to defence in 150 years. While it leaned heavily into new technologies, it has also recommended an increase in the size of the regular Army from 73,000 to 76,000 in the next Parliament. This follows decades of the Army shrinking from 156,000 at the end of the Cold War. The review also includes a chilling list of the potential effects of conflict on the UK's way of life and lays bare Britain's overseas dependencies and threats. In the event of war, Britain would be subject to attacks on its military bases at home and abroad, long-range drone and cruise missile sorties, cyber-attacks crippling national infrastructure and disruptions to economic interests and international trade routes. The SDR states that the defence medical services couldn't cope with a mass casualty event and that the military is suffering from a recruitment crisis which means only a small number of troops could be deployed. The document added: 'The UK is entering a new era of threat and challenge. The West's long-held military advantage is being eroded as other countries modernise and expand their armed forces at speed.' Eurofighter Typhoon jets from the UK's Royal Air Force land at Murted Air Base in Ankara for inspection by Turkish officials on December 18, 2024 The report also reveals that 95 per cent of the UK's data is carried by undersea cables that are vulnerable to attack and that the UK relies on imports for 46 per cent of its food. It stated: 'Undersea pipelines and data cables are critical for sustaining daily national life. The maritime domain is increasingly vulnerable. The Royal Navy must be prepared to deter maritime incidents similar to the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and the cutting of undersea data cables in UK and international waters.' In the year to September 2024, the UK suffered 89 nationally significant cyber-attacks. The Navy and RAF conducted 374 escorts of Russian Federation vessels between 2020 and 2024. In that same period there were 32 launches of RAF Typhoon Quick Reaction Alert aircraft. The report added: 'Defence must prepare for a much more difficult world of heightened competition, more frequent crises and conflict that sees conventional military attacks combined with intensified sub-threshold aggression. 'The UK is already subject to daily sub-threshold attack, targeting its critical national infrastructure, testing its vulnerabilities as an open economy and global trading nation and challenges its social cohesion. 'Changes in the strategic context mean that UK defence must plan on the basis that Nato allies may be drawn into war with – or be subject to coercion by – another nuclear-armed state.' The SDR will bring about a transformation of the Armed Forces, including the development of a so-called Integrated Force, a coming together of the separate services. Eurofighter Typhoon jet from the UK's Royal Air Force lands at Murted Air Base in Ankara for inspection by Turkish officials on December 18, 2024 While defence chiefs are determined to meet the Prime Minister's challenge to become 'war ready', the SDR reveals they are also expected to make savings. The Army is expected to deliver 'a ten-fold increase in lethality' – but without a significant number of regular soldiers, although the report concedes there is a 'strong case for a small increase in regular numbers when funding allows'. The SDR suggests fewer paratroopers will be trained to jump. The report calls on the RAF to become more efficient and use civilian planes when a task 'does not require military capability'. The Royal Navy is expected to move towards a 'cheaper' fleet. Admirals are expected to use 'commercial vessels' for transportation in non-contested environments and to share logistical challenges with allies. The UK's £7 billion combined-cost aircraft carriers are expected to become more versatile, with adaptations to ensure long-range missiles can be fired from their decks and more uncrewed aircraft. Defence Secretary John Healey said: 'We must move to war-fighting readiness, to avoid the huge costs that wars create. We prevent wars by being strong enough to win them. 'We will establish a new hybrid-Navy, our carriers will carry the first hybrid airwing in Europe. We will create a British Army which is ten times more lethal, with an aim of 76,000 regular soldiers in the next parliament. 'We will also increase the number of cadets by 30 per cent and develop a new strategic reserve by 2030.'
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Growing threats, new weapons, more troops: key points of strategic defence review
A vision of what war between the UK and another state such as Russia would look like is sketched out briefly but starkly on a page of the strategic defence review (SDR). Such a conflict could involve attacks on the armed forces in the UK and overseas, air and missile attacks on critical infrastructure, along with sabotage and efforts to manipulate information and undermine social cohesion. However, Britain is 'already under daily attack' in cyberspace with 89 'nationally significant' attacks in the year up to last September, according to the review, which calls for a response to a 'a new era of threat', underlined by, but not limited to, increasing Russian aggression. After years in which UK defence was shaped by the post-cold war era, when opponents were mainly non-state actors, the SDR says Britain must be ready to once again 'fight and win' a full-scale war. Sixty-two recommendations are put forward by its authors: the former defence secretary and Nato chief Lord Robertson, the retired British army general Sir Richard Barrons and Dr Fiona Hill, a Russia expert and former White House adviser. They write that they are confident that the transformation they propose is affordable over 10 years, but caution: 'As we live in such turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster. The plan we have put forward can be accelerated.' Russia's reliance on 'nuclear coercion' will be 'the central challenge' for the UK and Nato allies in the coming decades, the SDR warns. The defence secretary, John Healey, announced that the government would 'secure the future' of Britain's nuclear deterrent by investing £15bn in the UK nuclear warhead programme. For the future, the report indicates that Britain should expand its ability to launch a devastating nuclear strike by means other than its submarine fleet alone, referring to 'strengthening extended deterrence'. While there are different options, the review says that there will be a need over the coming decade for more F-35 fighter jets, a variant of which can carry nuclear bombs. At the same time, the review calls for a 'national endeavour' public communications campaign to convince the general public of what it describes as 'the necessity' of the nuclear deterrent. There should be 'a small uplift in troop numbers', according to the review in a recommendation that might not quite put to bed years of angst about Britain's 'shrinking' army. The army should be a mix of regular and reserves, it recommends, with a minimum of 100,000 soldiers, of which 73,000 should be regulars. In terms of recruitment, it calls for a focus on speed alongside a more flexible approach to fitness standards and new recruits being able to pass through medical and bureaucratic checks within a much shorter time than the current six months. Britain should also borrow from Australia's military 'gap years', based on thinking that women and people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are less likely to be put off if there is a 12-month option of engaging with the military. Cadet forces in schools and communities across the UK should be expanded by 30% by 2030, according to the review, with an ambition to reach 250,000 in the longer term and a greater focus on cadets developing Stem skills. This would be part of a broader move to 'reconnect' defence with society, something that Keir Starmer has already sought to kickstart. However, the review envisages two years of public outreach events to talk about threats and the rationale for defence investment, and work with the Department for Education 'to develop understanding of the armed forces among young people'. Greater focus is needed on protecting the UK's critical national infrastructure (CNI) from attack, the review says, calling for plans to be drawn up by December 2026. Part of this could include the development of a new reserve force. Healey has meanwhile committed up to £1bn of funding to enhance missile defence to protect the 'UK homeland'. Starmer used the launch of the review to commit to building 'up to' 12 new conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines to replace Britain's seven-strong Astute class from the end of the next decade onwards. However, the review says that the Royal Navy 'must continue to move towards a more powerful but cheaper and simpler fleet'. It also envisages the navy playing a new role in securing the UK's critical undersea infrastructure and maritime traffic. Its transformation should include use of unmanned technology across the board, including a 'hybrid' aircraft carrier air-wing with both crewed aircraft and drones. The army must deliver 'tenfold increase in lethality' at the same time as re-equipping and modernising after much of its kit, including Challenger 2 tanks and ammunition, have been given to Ukraine. A new 'digital warfighter group' – using AI and drones – should be established by July 2026. While the UK is 'already under daily attack' in cyberspace, the review warns that cyber-threats will become harder to mitigate as AI and other technology evolves. The formation of a new 'cyber and electromagnetic command' to oversee cyber-operations was announced last week by the MoD. That new commend needs to be filled by civilians and reserves, given that greater expertise exists in the civilian sector, according to the review. While the review says the UK has access to world-class intelligence capabilities, they are 'underpowered and fragmented' within defence intelligence, part of the MoD, and there should be a new unit to protect the military from hostile spy services. The threats At the apex, Russia is described in the SDR as 'an immediate and pressing threat'. While Ukraine has temporarily degraded its land forces, the review warns that Russia will be able to rebuild in the event of a ceasefire there Different language is used for China, which is described as a 'sophisticated and persistent challenge', which has embarked on a large-scale military modernisation that includes the development of missiles that can reach the UK. Others named include North Korea and Iran, both of which continue to be a direct threat to the UK in cyberspace. In addition, the report cautions: 'It will be important to scan for new threats, including those from 'middle powers' that may be hostile to UK interests.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Chilling threats by hostile states to our energy, food supply and way of life - as defence overhaul aims to get Britain 'war ready'
A blueprint to get Britain 'war ready' to fight Vladimir Putin has revealed this country's vulnerabilities in the event of a major conflict. The Strategic Defence Review (SDR), published today, includes a chilling list of the potential effects on the UK's way of life. But, despite these threats, top brass are expected to save money. The SDR, which has recommended an overhaul of the UK's Armed Forces, also lays bare Britain's overseas dependencies and threats. In the event of war, Britain would be subject to attacks on its military bases at home and abroad, long-range drone and cruise missile sorties, cyber-attacks crippling national infrastructure and disruptions to economic interests and international trade routes. The report reveals 95 per cent of the UK's data is carried by undersea cables that are vulnerable to attack, and Britain relies on imports for 46 per cent of its food. It says: 'Undersea pipelines and data cables are critical for sustaining daily national life. The maritime domain is increasingly vulnerable. The Royal Navy must be prepared to deter maritime incidents similar to the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and the cutting of undersea data cables in UK and international waters'. In recent years as much as 77 per cent of the UK's gas imports have come from Norway. So, if the Nordic state was compromised, Britain's energy supplies would be cut. The SDR, written by former Nato secretary-general Lord Robertson, retired general Sir Richard Barrons and Russia expert Fiona Hill, was described today as the most profound change to defence in 150 years. It sets out technologies which are redefining warfare such as artificial intelligence, robotics, enhanced precision and directed energy weapons, hypersonic missiles, space-based capabilities, quantum mechanics, cyber threats and engineering biology. And while for centuries the Royal Navy and the Army, and more recently the Royal Air Force have trained and equipped themselves separately, they are to come together as never before. Though the plan stops short of a full merger, the services will effectively be moulded into an 'Integrated Force'. The SDR argues this will be more efficient than maintaining a 'siloed' Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. It says: 'In practice, the single services have largely evolved separately in terms of design, equipment and training. 'The result is a force that joins up only on the battlefield. The effectiveness of the Armed Forces on operations is determined by the capabilities available to each service at the point of deployment, rather than the result of joined up planning and delivery.' The weakening of the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as independent entities, which is likely to trigger fierce debate, is reinforced by the language of the report. The separate services are scarcely mentioned whereas the newly raised Integrated Force is referred to repeatedly. This afternoon, Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge described the SDR as an 'empty wish list due to funding constraints'. He told the House of Commons: 'Today, the Prime Minister was unable to give a date when 3 per cent [of GDP] would be reached, because the Treasury hasn't approved the plan. 'For the Treasury to do so, it will have to feature billions of pounds of cuts from existing MoD programmes. 'The SDR has deferred all the big decisions on existing capabilities. The terrible shame of this SDR unravelling is that this was an extraordinary opportunity to overhaul our armed forces, in a world of growing threats. 'For the past year the Treasury has used the SDR to effectively put MOD procurement on hold, absolutely shameful when we need to rearm at pace. 'Our Armed Forces deserve better. This Government has produced a damp squib SDR that is overdue, under-funded and underwhelming.' Sections of the SDR are devoted to domains, land, sea, air, cyber and space, rather than by service. As part of its contribution to the land domain, the SDR expects the Army to deliver 'a ten-fold increase in lethality'. But this will have to be achieved with just a small uplift in the size of the Army – from 73,000 to 76,000 regular soldiers as the settled size of the full-time ranks. The report concedes there is a 'strong case for a small increase in regular numbers when funding allows'. The SDR suggests fewer paratroopers will be trained to jump. The Parachute Regiment has three full-time battalions, but according to the report, 'parachute capability and capacity should remain focused on specialists and a single battalion group'. For its part, the Royal Air Force will provide the 'Integrated Force's quickest means of striking targets'. The report calls on the RAF to become more efficient and use civilian planes when a task 'does not require military capability'. While as the Mail revealed last week, the RAF will 'invest in autonomous collaborative platforms (ACPs)' to protect legacy aircraft and vehicles. The Red Arrows display team will have to find new jets as the report recommends replacing the Hawk T1 and T2 planes with a 'cost-effective fast jet trainer'. Disturbingly, the Royal Navy is expected to move towards being 'cheaper'. The report adds the service should 'explore alternative approaches to delivering a balanced and cost-effective fleet'. Admirals are expected to use 'commercial vessels' for transportation in non-contested environments and to share logistical challenges with allies. The UK's £7billion combined cost aircraft carriers are expected to become more versatile, with adaptions to ensure long-range missiles can be fired from their decks and more uncrewed aircraft. Sea drones will also take up a multitude of roles that are currently undertaken by sailors, such as mine hunting. The SDR emphasises homeland defence and the Euro-Atlantic over expeditionary warfare or ambitions to shape the global security environment. This represents a marked change from the advocation of a 'Pacific tilt' in the UK's military posture as recently as 2021. The SDR has made 62 recommendations which government ministers have pledged to accept in full. It was designed to prepare this country to engage against an adversary such as Russia in this decade. It stresses the importance of the UK's contribution to Nato. In future, all aspects of preparation for conflict, such as training and procurement, will be predicated on the needs of the defence alliance. On technology, the review says advantage on the battlefield will not come from a single technological advance but from the combination of existing capabilities and a range of emerging technologies that include: Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and data science The review says these technologies will improve the quality and speed of decision-making and operational effectiveness for Britain's military, its allies and its enemies. Robotics and autonomy The battlefield of the present, in Ukraine, is dominated by uncrewed and autonomous capabilities. For example, Ukraine's devastating attack on Russian airfields was delivered by drones. Uncrewed platforms will also integrate with manned aircraft and vehicles to generate mass and lethality. Enhanced precision weapons These mean targets can be struck with greater accuracy from ever greater ranges. Directed energy weapons Systems such as the UK's Dragon Fire, a world-leading laser ground to air system being developed by boffins at Porton Down, Wiltshire, can save millions of pounds in expenditure on ordnance systems. Their accuracy also means they reduce collateral damage. Hypersonic missiles The UK is developing rocket systems which travel at over five times the speed of sound, which may offer greater range and ability to evade defences Space-based capabilities The SDR says approaching 20 per cent of GDP is reliant on satellite services, making space a critical national infrastructure sector and the site of growing international competition. Major disruption to these satellites would cost the UK economy an estimated £1billion a day. Damage to the UK's satellites would also cripple missile systems and communications on the battlefield. The SDR calls on the Government to urgently develop the 'resilience of its military space systems'. It suggests the purchase of earth-based sensors and counterspace systems, but without providing details. Quantum Advances in quantum computing offer the potential for allies and adversaries to break encryption, making secure communications more challenging. Quantum technologies also have the potential to reduce dependency on satellite-based GPS which is vulnerable to interference and hacking. Cyber threats The report warns cyber threats will become harder to mitigate as technology evolves, with government departments, military hardware and communications increasingly vulnerable. Engineering biology Advances in wellbeing, bionic enhancement and supplementation could enhance the performance of soldiers in combat. The report says there are also possibilities for new energetic and explosive materials, as well as avenues for enormous harm in the shape of new pathogens and other weapons of mass destruction.
The Independent
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Labour defence review proposes a ‘Home Guard' to protect UK from attack, report claims
A new home guard will be established to protect key British infrastructure from attacks by hostile states and terrorists, under plans reportedly put forward in a major defence review. The Sunday Times reports that thousands would be recruited to a force echoing the Local Defence Volunteers militia created in 1940 as Britain's 'last line of defence' during the Second World War, nicknamed 'Dad's Army'. The new force drawn from the civilian population would be sent to guard sites such as airports, power plants and coastal hubs where undersea internet cables join the shoreline, according to outlet. The plans are reportedly included in the forthcoming strategic defence review, commissioned last July, that is being overseen by defence secretary John Healey and led by former Nato chief Lord Robertson and retired general Sir Richard Barrons. Both of the latter two figures are reported to believe that the strategy, referred to internally as 'hedgehog Britain', is vital in order to bolster defences at sites they fear to be vulnerable to attack at a time of increasing uncertainty - although military chiefs say the country is not at risk of an invasion. Last year, Mr Healey confirmed that the size of the British Army had fallen below 70,000 for the firs time since 1793. The Independent revealed in March that Labour planned to plough £1.3 billion into recruitment to bolster the armed forces. In its report, The Sunday Times cited senior sources as pointing to the recent fire at an electrical substation which shut down Heathrow Airport in March as evidence that greater security is required. The 'root and branch' review will reportedly warn that the UK's armed forces lack sufficient personnel and resources to meet the scale of threat, and will also recommend that Sir Keir Starmer 's government invest in a shield system to protect the UK against missile attacks. Asked about the report,, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: 'We will not be drawn into commenting on claims regarding the Strategic Defence Review ahead of publication. 'The UK's Strategic Defence Review sets out a path for the next decade to transform the armed forces to ensure we're prepared for emerging threats – making Britain secure at home and strong abroad while transforming defence to drive innovation and economic growth as part of our Plan for Change. 'We have also announced the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, boosting funding to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, an increase of £13.4bn in cash terms, with an ambition to reach 3 per cent in the next parliament.'
Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Defence review labelled a ‘damp squib' after big decisions delayed
A review of the nation's defences has been described as a 'complete damp squib' amid claims that it will lack any detail. The most specific procurement decisions have been delayed until the autumn. The strategic defence review (SDR), which could be published as soon as next week, is being led by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, a former defence secretary and Nato secretary-general, and Sir Richard Barrons, a retired general. The process is understood to have been fraught with tension, with little meaningful consultation with Britain's senior military chiefs. Sources close to the Ministry of Defence claim the SDR, will be published 'without any numbers attached to it' and will lack any 'specific detail' with most procurement decisions delayed until October. The government has said
