At the same time, though, he said the defence budget faced “serious financial pressures”.
He repeated a pledge that the government would set out a course to lift the defence budget to 2.5% of national income – but yet again without giving a date.
The defence secretary then spelt out what “difficult decisions” meant in reality.
“To ensure that Britain is kept secure at home and strong abroad in a changing world, defence needs to make changes too. Difficult decisions are required,” he said.
The weapons systems on the chopping block are:
- The Royal Navy’s two amphibious assault ships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark. They will be taken out of service at the end of the year – around a decade early in a blow to the ability of the Royal Marines to launch land assaults from the sea.
- A fleet of 17 Royal Air Force Puma helicopters, as well as 14 of the military’s oldest Chinook helicopters
- A fleet of 46 Watchkeeper drones – each worth about £5m – barely six years since they entered into service
- HMS Northumberland, a Type 23 frigate, which is in need of costly repairs and has already operated well beyond an 18-year out-of-service date
- Two large Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler – vessels which carry fuel and supplies to enable the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers to operate around the world.
Mr Healey also hinted that further cuts would follow.
“These will not be the last difficult decisions I will have to make, to fix the defence inheritance that we were left with,” he told MPs.
The announcement, while uncomfortable, is designed to be the least damaging way to reduce costs while retaining capability.
It comes ahead of a plan by the government to publish a sweeping new review of defence in the spring, which is being drawn up by an external team and is expected to recommend extensive changes across the army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
The Ministry of Defence says that the equipment that is being axed – the term used is “accelerated retirement” – was selected because it is outdated and military chiefs need to focus finite money and personnel instead on the weapons systems most suited to modern warfare.
However, Russia’s war in Ukraine has demonstrated that old, outdated weapons are better than no weapons at all.
The Russian armed forces have relied heavily on old tanks, artillery guns and helicopters to fight after the weapons they used in the first weeks and months of the war were destroyed.
It takes years to build warships and helicopters
Sir Keir Starmer will face uncomfortable challenges at the sight of amphibious assault vessels and Chinook transport helicopters being sold off or scrapped regardless of how old they are.
Yet it costs money to keep equipment in storage just in case it is needed.
Limited funds allocated to defence mean that military chiefs appear to have decided that scrapping weapons early is the least worst option.
The decision to scrap the British Army’s Mark 1 version of the Watchkeeper drone at a time when drones are such a dominant asset on the battlefield may also be tricky to defend.
Source : https://news.sky.com/story/uk-to-scrap-warships-military-helicopters-and-fleet-of-drones-to-save-money-despite-threats-abroad-13257285
