The "future soldier programme"

"Defence UK is not convinced that the 'Future Soldier' programme will deliver the breadth and depth of Army capabilities which it promises. Whilst we welcome the new investment in Army equipment, and the creation of the new Ranger Regiment for deployment in Africa and Asia, we remain extremely concerned about the overall reduction in Army manpower. Under the new plans, the British Army will shrink to just 73,000 full-time Regulars and fewer than 30,000 part-time Reservists. That will make it the smallest Army we have had at our disposal in more than two hundred years! As the world becomes a more dangerous place, with rogue states and terrorist networks posing ever greater threats to UK and Western security, and with the NATO alliance increasingly reliant on the UK contribution, now is not the time to risk weakening the British Army. We urge the Government to reconsider the scale of this reduction in overall personnel numbers."

Andrew Smith, Director, Defence UK

​26th November 2021

And Now there are Seven
Thank Goodness the Yanks are Here!

The recent loss of an F35B aircraft from the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (QE), reducing the British contribution to her fighter bomber complement to just seven aircraft, is yet another indication, if one is needed, that the UK's armed forces lack resource; basically capability and capacity.  In this instance, insufficient aircraft numbers and the ability to recover them when they fall into the water!  With the lost aircraft now sitting on the seabed in deep water and an operation being rolled out to recover it before the Russians do, there will be a scramble within the MOD to find a suitable dynamically positioned seabed operations vessel, from an ally or the commercial sector, that can carry out the salvage operation.  The RN's vessel that would have been capable of that, RFA Diligence, herself an ex commercial dive support and seabed operations vessel, was recently seen awaiting disposal, in stripped out form, at Cammell Laird's yard in Birkenhead!  The planned Multi Role Ocean Surveillance Ship (MROSS), which may be able to undertake such tasks, seems to be a long way down the procurement path and no-one is quite sure when she will be operational.  Historically aircraft attrition rates in naval aviation have been high and with the UK back in the game of operating aircraft carriers the loss of this aircraft should act as a siren call to speed up the procurement of seabed operation vessels.  With UK forces now operating East of Suez in greater strength, and with carrier operations as a part of that mix, MROSS numbers should be sufficient to have one based either side of that canal.  The offshore oil and gas industry is presently experiencing a difficult period and so now may be a good time to swoop in and pick up a couple of good but relatively inexpensive seabed operation vessels and then modify them to naval requirements, as was done in 1983 when the MV Stena Inspector became RFA Diligence. 

The fact that the UK has so far ordered only 48 of the planned 138 F35Bs has a legitimate reason.  The manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, appears to be dragging its feet in matching the British Meteor air to air beyond visual range (BVR) missile, probably the best of its type in the world, to the F35B, and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is fully justified in holding off on further orders until he sees positive movement and results on that issue.  In this he is following the line set out in the Government's Defence & Security Industrial Strategy (DSIS), which aims to support and enhance the UK's defence industrial base.  The incorporation of the Meteor into the F35's armoury will enable the missile's manufacturer, MBDA, to compete commercially when international customers consider purchasing that aircraft.  In recent times that support has not always been there.  The decision to accept 50 Boeing AH64E Apache helicopters with the American Joint Air and Ground Missile (JAGM), instead of the UK's Brimstone (another MBDA product), has inserted a wedge between that British weapon and some of its potential customers.  This wedge will adversely affect Brimstone's sales potential when future purchasers of the AH64E are looking for a similar missile to arm their land and sea forces.  One wonders if the JAGM's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, is attempting to insert a similar wedge between MBDA's potential customers for Meteor?  Possibly having been bitten once over Brimstone, Ben Wallace is reluctant to let that happen again with Meteor and, if it enhances the UK's ability to produce military equipment at scale, he is right to accept a temporary short fall in F35 numbers.  His action (or inaction) sends the signal that if a foreign company wants the UK to buy its equipment, then it must invest in this country, and in the way we stipulate.  Only then, with a capable defence industry which can produce at scale and reduce unit cost, may we be able to overcome some of our general resource problems.

In the period of reduced RN/RAF F35 numbers however, as the title indicates, Thank Goodness the Yanks are Here.  In this case, with ten US Marine Corp F35Bs, which now make up almost two thirds of the QE's fixed wing air group.

Fred Dupuy
Non Exec Director of DefenceUK.

30th November 2021
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MISSION STATEMENT:

“Defence UK is an independent pressure group that campaigns for a strong and well-resourced Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, to ensure the security of the United Kingdom, her Sovereign Territories, trade and commerce, and to protect her citizens wherever they may be. We also call for a greater commitment by the UK Government to the nation's defence industries, and to non-military services such as the Merchant Navy, Coastguard, Border Control and Homeland Security that are essential to the Defence of the Realm.”
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