bulletin news headline news
Britain announced on Tuesday it plans to spend an extra £2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) on army munitions and create a new “global response force”, vowing to learn lessons from the war in Ukraine. headline news
The country’s Ministry of Defence said the additional investment in stockpiles would cover the coming decade, and be paired with other spending and reforms intended to bolster “warfighting resilience” and deterrence.
It comes after a £5 billion funding boost to the defence budget announced in March, following a years-long review of strategic foreign and defence policy.
That identified the threat posed by Russia to European security as the most pressing short-to medium-term priority but also called China an “epoch-defining challenge”.
Unveiling the “refresh” — detailed in a 92-page Defence Command Paper — outgoing Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said it was focused on areas needing “urgent prioritisation” in an increasingly “contested and volatile world”.
“As Russia has so effectively proven, there is no point having parade ground armies, mass ranks of men and machines if they cannot be integrated as a single full spectrum force sustained in the field under all demands of modern warfighting,” he told lawmakers.
He added that requires “professional forces, well-equipped and rapidly adaptable, supported by critical enablers and vast stockpiles of munitions”.
“That is why in this document, you won’t find shiny new… comms-led policy driving unsustainable force designs, or any major new platforms for military enthusiasts to put up on their charts on a bedroom wall.”
“Fine details”
Wallace announced last weekend that he will step down from his role — held since July 2019 — at the next reshuffle of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ministers, which is expected within weeks.
His review of UK defence envisages science and technology playing a bigger role, alongside a new alliance with industry which will be engaged “much earlier in strategic conversations”.
It also plans for a boost in reservist forces “to add further depth and expertise in time of crisis,” as well as changes to soldier recruitment including “offering a more compelling and competitive incentivisation package”.
Meanwhile the ministry said it will invest £400 million to modernise accommodation for soldiers and their families, calling the spending “essential for the operational effectiveness of our personnel”.
Wallace noted that the new global response force would draw on expertise of land, sea, air and space domains and have “adversary not geographic focuses”.
It could be deployed for various roles, including to evacuate UK citizens “in moments of crisis like Sudan” or to “deter an adversary or reassure a friend”.
Wallace also said UK support for NATO would remain “ironclad” and London will “continue to prioritise our core relationships” while deepening ties with “new partners”.
“None of this is headline grabbing stuff, but it is the fine details that makes a difference for national security,” he added.
jj/jwp/rl
© Agence France-Presse. All rights are reserved.
bulletin news headline news
