In the midst of a disagreement with the Army and lawmakers over the services’ declining headcount and the threat from Russia, Boris Johnson asserted that Britain will always have “enough troops.”
Despite an emphatic warning this week from the senior soldier in the army, the Prime Minister refused to commit to undoing the reductions in the size of the British Army.
General Sir Patrick Sanders made a startling statement in which he claimed that the nation was facing a “1937 moment” due to Vladimir Putin’s “brutal aggressiveness,” making reference to the infamous tactic of caving in to the German dictatorship prior to the Second World War.
Instead of repeating the errors of appeasement that allowed Hitler to wreak havoc, the head of the general staff emphasized that Britain must be prepared to “fight and win.”
This week, Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, also wanted a significant increase in defense spending, which put him at odds with No. 10.
Before the crisis in Ukraine started last year, defense leaders conducted a comprehensive review of the Armed Forces.
By 2025, the British Army’s effective strength will be at its lowest point since the Napoleonic War, when it would only have 72,500 soldiers.
It happened at the same time that the British Army started a recruitment drive with a very sharp name.
While soldiers are using new technologies in war, the future of UK defense will be supported by soldiers, according to the campaign Nothing Can Do What A Soldier Can Do.
When questioned about the budget cuts today on LBC radio, Mr. Johnson responded, “Of course, you have to have a big enough army.
To accomplish your goals, you must have an adequate number of soldiers and strength. That is essential.
We won’t ever give in there, we say. However, you must also see to it that the men you do have are well armed.
The UK is normally going to be way out in front when it comes to… look at our naval commitments.
Second, don’t forget that when we actually fight in combat, we engage as an alliance.
Enormous. See what we can accomplish online.
It followed Mr. Johnson’s last night’s pledge to increase defence expenditure in response to Russian aggression.
The prime minister declared that by the end of the decade, the UK would devote 2.5% of its GDP to defence at a news conference that concluded the NATO summit in Madrid.
As the government “invests for the long term” in order to counter the danger from Russia, Mr. Johnson insisted that budgets will rocket well over the alliance’s two percent target in the next years.
The PM later disclosed the scope of Mr. Putin’s “sabre-rattling,” but she issued a warning against the West becoming involved in what she described as a “Russia versus NATO” fight.
By 2030, the PM’s proposed increase in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP would cost an additional £10 billion annually at current prices; however, analysts have warned that this may require higher taxes to fund the pledge.
Over the next ten years, there will be an increase in spending of £55.1 billion, according to projections made by the Office for Budget Responsibility regarding the size of the economy.
Although Mr. Johnson claimed that “having armed services that are magnificently equipped” was the first priority, he was nonetheless questioned about why the size of the army is being reduced.
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, has been pressing for increased military spending to meet the Russian threat.
At an RUSI think tank event, he cautioned that defence can no longer be sustained on a “diet of smoke and mirrors,” noting that governments have long been acting like “business raiders” by diverting funds to the NHS and other sectors.
Increasing spending to 2.5% of GDP by the end of the decade, according to senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, is “too little, too late.”
This is NOT the time to downsize the Army by 10,000, the head of the Commons Defence Committee wrote on Twitter.
And increasing defence spending to 2.5 percent by 2030 is too little, too late.
After NATO announced it was increasing the number of troops on high alert from 40,000 to 300,000 and sending additional heavy weaponry to its eastern flank, requests for armament followed.
The largest reform of our collective defence and deterrence since the Cold War, according to the secretary-general of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg.
A robotic soldier surveys the terrain of a combat zone in a one-minute commercial that will be screened in theatres, on television, and online.
The commercial features more than 4,000 distinct CGI pieces and 2,000 sound design samples.
The conclusion demonstrates that, despite the value of technology, only troops are capable of making quick decisions when operating in a hostile environment.
Billboards will include arresting pictures of soldiers and robots as part of the campaign.
The ad is the sixth instalment in Accenture Song’s “This is Belonging” series, which was created in collaboration with Capita and the British Army.
Nothing Can Do What A Soldier Can Do, like previous recruitment ads, seeks to remove one of the numerous misconceptions about the British Army, according to Colonel Nick Mackenzie, assistant director of recruiting.
This time, we’re examining the future of the British Army and the position of the soldier within it.
We want to convey to potential recruits that the Army’s future depends on the judgment, intelligence, and even wit of its soldiers, regardless of the technological advances we make.
‘We hope the campaign will help potential applicants see the Army as an exciting place they can learn and grow, and be appreciated as a vital part of our future,’ the campaign’s creators said.