Maybe the Navy is going to tier 2 too?
UK military could run out of ammo in single afternoon – ex-commander
British armed forces have been “hollowed out by spending cuts,” General Richard Barrons has saidThe UK could deplete its ammunition stocks in mere hours should it be drawn into large-scale fighting, a former British commander warned on Thursday. This and other issues make the UK military unfit to be regarded as a “top tier” NATO member, he said.
Retired General Richard Barrons, who formerly headed the UK’s Joint Forces Command, sounded the alarm in an op-ed published by The Sun in which he said the fighting force has been “hollowed out by spending cuts.”
Barrons claimed that the British armed forces “are smaller and less ready to fight than at any time in living memory.” He also warned that the UK Army is on course to slip below 76,000 troops. However, even these service members often do not receive adequate training, Barrons noted.
British tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery pieces mostly date to the previous century, while “years of cuts to ammunition production mean that, for some types of key weapons, the army would run out in a busy afternoon,” the general said.
Barrons added that the Royal Navy and Air Force are “in better shape” and boast some “outstanding modern equipment,” but cautioned that without experienced personnel, ammunition, and spare parts they might turn out to be just a “glittering shop window” without much to show for it on the actual battlefield.
The former commander said the UK should focus on Europe, arguing that the “tilt to Asia can wait.” He urged London to invest in modern capabilities, including drones, missiles, and cyber and electronic warfare capabilities. Britain should also double its reserves to 60,000 troops, he said.
Regarding Russia, Barrons estimated that to be able to handle a “surprise attack,” the British Army will need to spend “£3 billion ($3.67 billion) this year, and every year for the next ten years.”
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace admitted in the House of Commons on Monday that the military has been “hollowed out and underfunded.” His comments followed a Sky News report alleging that a top US general had told Wallace that British forces are “barely tier two” in terms of fighting capabilities.
The clown show continues...
More humiliation for the Ministry of Defence as it is revealed the £3bn warship’s starboard and portside shafts are misaligned.
The has been delayed further after engineers discovered “elementary” mistakes in the warship’s shaft alignment, The Telegraph can reveal in a further embarrassment to (MoD).
The revelation came as the department was being investigated about its procurement process by the Conservatives, in an attempt to get to the bottom of repeated failings.
The Telegraph understands that both starboard and portside shafts are misaligned, causing the shafts to be offset.
This can cause the shaft to vibrate beyond its design tolerance, wear the bearings and in extreme cases break a coupling on the shaft itself, as happened with last September.
The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier’s was cancelled last year because of a propeller shaft problem.
Its subsequent departure to to undergo repairs was delayed after a “crack” was found in part of its machinery.
Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy officer and captain of HMS Endurance, told The Telegraph that getting shaft alignment right is a “well-established” part of any ship built within maritime engineering circles.
“It is an elementary mistake,” Mr Sharpe said. “While building a ship of this size or complexity, nothing is routine. I’m surprised that this misalignment wasn’t spotted during build or then at sea as it became worse.
“HMS Queen Elizabeth is fine, which suggests that was subject to less rigorous testing during build and then trials when at sea. This is not uncommon in second-of-class ships. But in this case, clearly unsatisfactory.”
Navy sources insisted that by performing repairs on the portside shafts, it was “prudent action to like we had on the other shaft”.
“When all the trials took place the shafts were within tolerance,” they said. “No issues were identified in the trial and in build.”
They added that while they are content nothing has gone wrong with the portside shaft, they believe it is in the same state the starboard shaft was in.
“So we are pre-emptively correcting it before it becomes an issue, as we know the starboard shaft ended up failing,” they said.
John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, said: “At a time when threats are rising and the number of navy ships are set to fall further, we need our fleet at sea, not stuck in dock for long-running repairs.”
Mr Healey added that as a Nato flagship, “ministers cannot allow ongoing problems to undermine the ability of our Armed Forces to lead important joint exercises”.
He said: “The Conservatives must be upfront about the time and cost of repairs, and ensure the UK can meet its commitments in full to Nato and our allies.”
Earlier this week, the MoD had to explain how a nuclear engineer working on HMS Vanguard had in what was described as an “unforgivable” error.
The inquiry into defence procurement, which is being led by Mark Francois, the backbench Tory MP, will examine the MoD’s failures at spending hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money properly going back at least two decades.
Mr Francois, a former Armed Forces minister, said: “The war in Ukraine is a total game changer, which means that we must increase our defence spending, as many of our Nato allies have already done.
“However, it’s not just about spending more money. It’s about getting a far better effect for the money that we spend.”
The woes with HMS Prince of Wales followed the controversy over the £5.5bn Ajax tank programme
within the MoD include the beleaguered , which the Commons public accounts committee described as being “flawed from the outset. It said that the department had “once again made fundamental mistakes” in planning and managing a major equipment programme.
Meanwhile, a report last year by the , which evaluates the Government’s major spending plans, found that out of 52 projects under way at the MoD, worth £194.7 billion, only three were given a green rating which suggested “successful delivery appears highly likely”.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: “After a thorough examination, the Royal Navy is completing pre-emptive work on the port shaft to prevent a similar defect occurring. We are working closely with industry to sequence this with a long-scheduled upgrade and enhancement period.
“HMS Prince of Wales will commence her operational programme, as planned, in autumn 2023. This will include flying training and trials.”
More humiliation for the Ministry of Defence as it is revealed the £3bn warship’s starboard and portside shafts are misaligned.
The has been delayed further after engineers discovered “elementary” mistakes in the warship’s shaft alignment, The Telegraph can reveal in a further embarrassment to (MoD).
The revelation came as the department was being investigated about its procurement process by the Conservatives, in an attempt to get to the bottom of repeated failings.
The Telegraph understands that both starboard and portside shafts are misaligned, causing the shafts to be offset.
This can cause the shaft to vibrate beyond its design tolerance, wear the bearings and in extreme cases break a coupling on the shaft itself, as happened with last September.
The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier’s was cancelled last year because of a propeller shaft problem.
Its subsequent departure to to undergo repairs was delayed after a “crack” was found in part of its machinery.
Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy officer and captain of HMS Endurance, told The Telegraph that getting shaft alignment right is a “well-established” part of any ship built within maritime engineering circles.
“It is an elementary mistake,” Mr Sharpe said. “While building a ship of this size or complexity, nothing is routine. I’m surprised that this misalignment wasn’t spotted during build or then at sea as it became worse.
“HMS Queen Elizabeth is fine, which suggests that was subject to less rigorous testing during build and then trials when at sea. This is not uncommon in second-of-class ships. But in this case, clearly unsatisfactory.”
Navy sources insisted that by performing repairs on the portside shafts, it was “prudent action to like we had on the other shaft”.
“When all the trials took place the shafts were within tolerance,” they said. “No issues were identified in the trial and in build.”
They added that while they are content nothing has gone wrong with the portside shaft, they believe it is in the same state the starboard shaft was in.
“So we are pre-emptively correcting it before it becomes an issue, as we know the starboard shaft ended up failing,” they said.
John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, said: “At a time when threats are rising and the number of navy ships are set to fall further, we need our fleet at sea, not stuck in dock for long-running repairs.”
Mr Healey added that as a Nato flagship, “ministers cannot allow ongoing problems to undermine the ability of our Armed Forces to lead important joint exercises”.
He said: “The Conservatives must be upfront about the time and cost of repairs, and ensure the UK can meet its commitments in full to Nato and our allies.”
Earlier this week, the MoD had to explain how a nuclear engineer working on HMS Vanguard had in what was described as an “unforgivable” error.
The inquiry into defence procurement, which is being led by Mark Francois, the backbench Tory MP, will examine the MoD’s failures at spending hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money properly going back at least two decades.
Mr Francois, a former Armed Forces minister, said: “The war in Ukraine is a total game changer, which means that we must increase our defence spending, as many of our Nato allies have already done.
“However, it’s not just about spending more money. It’s about getting a far better effect for the money that we spend.”
The woes with HMS Prince of Wales followed the controversy over the £5.5bn Ajax tank programme
within the MoD include the beleaguered , which the Commons public accounts committee described as being “flawed from the outset. It said that the department had “once again made fundamental mistakes” in planning and managing a major equipment programme.
Meanwhile, a report last year by the , which evaluates the Government’s major spending plans, found that out of 52 projects under way at the MoD, worth £194.7 billion, only three were given a green rating which suggested “successful delivery appears highly likely”.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: “After a thorough examination, the Royal Navy is completing pre-emptive work on the port shaft to prevent a similar defect occurring. We are working closely with industry to sequence this with a long-scheduled upgrade and enhancement period.
“HMS Prince of Wales will commence her operational programme, as planned, in autumn 2023. This will include flying training and trials.”
The thing about this is that at the end of the day, Britain could afford its delusions. It's pathetic and embarrassing but Britain could afford it, Australia cannot. Britain faced AK-wielding goat herders, Australia will face stealth bombers.
A £3 billion increase is going to be less than inflation so is in effect a cut in military spending.
If it's above inflation, then good luck expecting that to make any meaningful difference. UK budget revenues are lower today than they were in 2007 and have shown zero evidence of growth. Public sector works are already striking because they are underpaid, I doubt the government can push through increased military spending without widespread unrest.
A big thing in the British Military is soldiers finding profession through their service, no matter what role they decide to do they can find a civilian life job through it at the end of their service career. So those soldiers that are ready to leave or have served their time and about to come into the civilian job market will find how under paid they will be. The cycle doesn't work, a real depressive state of affairs for the British Military and its personnel, just about everyone with a job is on strike, but not everyone will get that raise, the UK Government is choosing to just turn a blind eye. So the next natural response to a Government that doesn't listen or bide by the people is revolt, revolution.
Not really a big deal since USN provides the real protection anyway.
