Britain Needs to Rearm Quickly

           

By Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee and Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Crawford

The government’s Defence Industrial Strategy, published earlier this month, promises to make defence an engine for growth. But it doesn’t address the real issues. Britain’s armed forces are perilously weak. The Royal Navy has only a handful of frigates and destroyers, with submarines often tied up for lack of crew. The RAF has shrunk from nearly 850 combat aircraft in the late 1980s to just over 100 today. The Army can barely field 73,000 regulars, short of tanks, artillery and modern air defence.

Meanwhile, Russia is resurgent, America distracted, and Europe divided. In any future fight, our troops will go into battle with what’s on the shelves now, not what’s been promised years ahead.

Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Crawford writes:

Last week saw the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) trade fair take place in London. It is one of the biggest arms industry exhibitions in the world, and there was as much hyperbole and wishful thinking on display as there was military hardware in the speeches and statements delivered by the many defence firms in attendance.

After all the glitzy announcements and self-congratulatory backslapping, however, the reality is that very little of real substance came out of it, at least as far as Britain is concerned.

The actualité is this; after decades of underfunding under the so-called “peace dividend,” the UK’s services are woefully understrength and underequipped to face the realpolitik of the new international order. Russia is resurgent, NATO divided, and America increasingly focused on China.

Our Navy has too few ships, the RAF too few aircraft, and the Army too few soldiers and not enough armour or artillery. Frankly, the forces are not fit for purpose.

So the armed forces are indeed in dire straits. But hand in hand with a rearming of the forces must come a rapid ramping up of the UK’s defence industrial base.

Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee continues:

That is where the Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) comes in. Published earlier this month, its ambition is to “make defence an engine for growth.” Recently the Trade Body ADS highlighted the contribution the sector already makes: £25.4 billion in exports, 330,000 jobs, and productivity growth of almost 30% over the last decade.

it is clear to all that strategy alone is not enough. The Ministry of Defence must reform its labyrinthine procurement system to give small and medium-sized enterprises the same chances as the big primes. SMEs are the workhorses of the supply chain, yet they too often find the barriers to entry insurmountable.

I know this first-hand as the Chair of a small but innovative Northern Ireland engineering company, Boyce Precision Engineering (BPE). Companies like BPE are part of the vital supply chain feeding into the larger defence primes. They see clearly the potential for growth and jobs if procurement is simplified and opportunities genuinely opened to SMEs. But they also know the risks of government failing to deliver on its commitments: missed opportunities and talented young people discouraged from staying in the sector.

Equally important is spreading the benefits of defence investment across all regions of the UK. Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the English regions all have capabilities to offer. Ministers should also act as global champions for our companies, promoting British defence as the gold standard and boosting exports.

Defence spending is not a luxury but the first duty of the government. Vague promises of higher budgets years from now are worthless when threats are already at the gate. We must invest now, both in our armed forces and in the industry that sustains them — or face humiliation later.

Lt Col Stuart Crawford is a defence analyst and former army officer. Sign up for his podcasts and newsletters at www.DefenceReview.uk

 

 

Lt Col Stuart Crawford’s latest book Tank Commander (Hardback) is available now

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