Britain is capable of conducting local military operations, but is not ready for war, the defense minister admitted. He warned that this interferes with the deterrence function. Problems with equipment are also confirmed by sources in the Ministry of Defense
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The British Armed Forces are sufficiently prepared to conduct combat operations, but they risk falling behind their opponents in technical terms, writes The Telegraph, citing a senior army source.
“We can fight, no doubt about it,” he added. “We are ready for the last war.” But we must be ready to fight the next war.”
The source’s comments follow British Defense Secretary John Healey, who said that under the previous Conservative government the army was underfunded and “devastated” to the extent that it would not be able to deter the enemy if fighting began today. “The UK, like many other countries, has essentially become very experienced and ready to conduct [ограниченных] military operations. What we were not prepared for was war. If we’re not ready for war, we can’t hold back [противника]”, said the minister.
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“The constant flow of operations and ongoing commitments has left the armed forces lacking the training and resources to conduct high-intensity combat. Despite the ability to deploy at short notice and meet commitments, our investigation showed that preparedness for all-out, protracted war has received insufficient attention and needs to be given close attention on an ongoing basis,” the UK Ministry of Defense said in a February report.
In 2023, the number of British military personnel who have undergone professional training was 133.5 thousand, The Financial Times found out last summer.
Before losing leadership, the Conservative Party promised to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030. New Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer made an ironclad promise to bring spending to this level, but with a specific time frame didn’t name. “Labour inherited an extremely difficult economic situation and the world has become a much more dangerous place. So instinctively I think that by 2030 we should increase spending by at least 2.5%, and with the level of ambition that we have, we should achieve this by 2030,” the outgoing Chief of the General Staff said in the summer UK Patrick Sanders.
Western countries began assessing their defense capabilities after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine.
