Scrapping old equipment must not mean defence cuts
At a time of heightened international tension, it seems perverse for Britain to scrap the Army’s primary drone system when such weapons are increasingly supplanting more conventional armaments in modern warfare.
John Healey, the Defence Secretary, told MPs that “outdated” projects across all three armed forces are to be scrapped to save around £500 million over five years. In addition, the Royal Navy is to lose five ships while the RAF will see older helicopters dispensed with as part of a cost-cutting exercise ordered by the Treasury.
If they were all being replaced with state of the art equipment then such measures might be acceptable; but they are part of a package of cuts to the MoD budget just when it needs to be increased.
They were announced even though a major review of Britain’s defence needs is under way and is not due to report until next year. It is ostensibly looking at how to adapt the military to fight better in a more contested world but the Treasury thinks the military must do more for less.
This cheese-paring of our defence is madness given the current global threat. Vladimir Putin has once again raised the spectre of nuclear war after Ukraine fired US and British long-range missiles into Russian territory – but most strategists dismiss this as bluster. More likely is a conventional clash between Nato and Russia.
The drone is one weapon that is being used on an almost daily basis in the conflict, so removing the Army’s Watchkeeper capacity, even if it is 14 years old, looks premature unless Mr Healey has an alternative ready and waiting. One source said that “when drones appear to dominate the Ukrainian battlefield, the Army seems to be divesting itself of drones”. Insiders say that while the craft is out of date, the sensors it carries remain “good”.
Whitehall officials say it is time for a “better” drone system and doubtless that is true, provided the replacement is immediately available when the Watchkeepers are retired. The armed services do not want to be hampered by old equipment but neither do they want to end up with nothing. As Admiral Lord West, the former First Sea Lord, observed, new amphibious ships for the Royal Navy must be ordered now, otherwise they won’t be available when needed.
However, these decisions are not strategic, but measures designed to save money despite a Labour pledge to increase defence spending. If the Government wants cuts, it should look elsewhere.