Defence review: ’It marks the biggest change in British military for nearly 50 years’

The size of the Army is to be reduced to 72,500 soldiers by 2025 as part of a move towards drones and cyberwarfare in a major defence shake-up unveiled on Monday. The Standard’s defence editor Robert Fox looks at significant changes to the military
Defence Command Paper
PA
Robert Fox23 March 2021

The defence review proposes a smaller army , the scrapping of old kit and equipment, but a host of new skills and capabilities to fight new enemies.

It marks the biggest change in British military for nearly 50 years. It is presented in a glossy brochure , perhaps more suitable for holiday cruises, but it all means a huge change for all three services within the next three or four years.

The Army is to be cut to a fully trained or fighting strength of 72,500. This is down from a current fighting strength of 76,000. It also means the number of those in training, on leave will be around 75,000.

The big plus is that the reserves are to be boosted to 30,100. Covid has shown the value of such forces for all kinds of civil and domestic emergencies.

A lot of old equipment is to be retired early – from Warrior infantry carriers, to the Hercules military transport planes, favourites with the SAS, and the Puma helicopters. A new medium helicopter is to be ordered – to be delivered by the end of 2024.

The competitors are the old, very old, Blackhawk from the USA, and untried Airbus model from France, and from Agusta a military version of the highly rated AB 139 – which offers the possibility of being made at the Agusta Westland plant in Yeovil.

The whole range and strength of special forces will get a revamp. The SAS and SBS will now be followed by different groups of raiders, fighters and trainers, a Special Operations Brigade, a new Future Commando Force for the Royal Marines.

The Rangers brigade will be made up of four bite-sized battalions of 250 each, from famous regiments and battalions rebranded, including the Scots Guards, Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, a Rifles battalion and the Lancashires.

There is a particular emphasis on work for civilians and military across the regions, shipbuilding and air bases in Scotland, revamped bases and specialist centres for Wales and Northern Ireland. There are to be refurbished overseas bases in no fewer than ten countries, including Germany, Kenya and Brunei.

The most eye-catching developments are in new commands and areas of conflict, space, cyber and new forms of chemical and biological warfare. Much of the extra funding will go on these.

But even with the defence budget approach £50 billion a year in the next two or three years, funding all the new plans will be a stretch. The test will be not only whether the new look forces deter potential and actual foes, but win support and buy-in from allies , in Europe, the Commonwealth and Pacific as well as the USA. It’s crucial.

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