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Britain will once again become Europe’s biggest naval power after a £ 16.5 billion boost to defense spending, Boris Johnson promised yesterday.
The prime minister said he would “restore Britain’s position” as ruler of the waves rather than allow the UK “to huddle on our island and leave the task to our friends.”
Billions of pounds of the extra defense cash would go to the next generation of warships, including the new advanced Type 32 frigates that will be armed with lasers.
France has 23 warships, comprising 11 destroyers, 11 frigates and its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, currently more than the UK.
Billions of pounds of the extra defense cash would go to the next generation of warships, including the new advanced Type 32 frigates that will be armed with lasers.
But Royal Navy sources were interested in pointing out that many of its ships are ‘old’ and small, adding that with the addition of roughly five new Type 32 frigates, the UK will have 26 warships by the 2030s. .
A source in the Navy said: ‘If you look at the list of French ships, some of them are 20 years old. This will be the most modern fleet in Europe ”.
In a speech to the House of Commons yesterday, Johnson said: ‘We will use our additional defense spending to restore Britain’s position as the leading naval power in Europe, carrying forward our plans for eight Type 26 and five Type 31 frigates, and supporting ships to supply our carriers.
‘We are going to develop the next generation of warships, including multi-role research ships and Type 32 frigates.
Britain will once again become Europe’s biggest naval power after a £ 16.5bn boost to defense spending, Boris Johnson promised yesterday.
And this will stimulate a revival of British shipbuilding across the UK, in Glasgow and Rosyth, Belfast, Appledore and Birkenhead, securing jobs and illuminating the benefits of the Union in the white light of the welder’s torch. arc ”.
He added: “If there was a policy that strengthens the UK in every way possible, it is building more ships for the Royal Navy.”
Defense spending will rise by £ 16.5bn above the Conservatives’ manifesto commitment for four years.
The government had already committed to increasing spending by 0.5 percent above inflation for each year of this parliament. The total comes to £ 24.1 billion more.
Johnson said Britain’s two new aircraft carriers, costing £ 6.2bn in total, will be operational in 2023, with HMS Queen Elizabeth heading to the Indian Ocean and East Asia next year.
“We will deploy more of our naval assets in the most important regions of the world, protecting the maritime routes that supply our nation,” he told parliamentarians.
Outlining a futuristic vision for the Armed Forces, the prime minister also said that warships will carry lasers that will make munitions redundant.
He said: ‘Our warships and combat vehicles will carry’ directed energy weapons ‘, destroying targets with inexhaustible lasers and for them the phrase’ without ammunition ‘will become redundant.’
Billions of pounds will be dumped into a space center amid growing threats from Russia and China and also into a new cyber center made up of troops and spies.
The new RAF Space Command will launch British satellites and the country’s first rocket from Scotland in 2022.
General Sir Nick Carter, Chief of Defense Staff, welcomed the cash injection, saying it would be “crazy” if the UK didn’t spend more on space.
When asked why there had been a renewed focus on the Navy, Sir Nick suggested that the UK, which will get rid of European Union rules next year, could play a bigger role in policing trade routes. global.
“We are a maritime power, we are an island,” he said.
“And we also depend heavily on the global economy and the global economy moves by sea, most of it, when we talk about fixed assets.
Johnson said Britain’s two new aircraft carriers, costing £ 6.2bn in total, will be operational in 2023, with HMS Queen Elizabeth (pictured) heading to the Indian Ocean and East Asia next year.
‘And of course the global economy has to go through straits and we’ve seen the challenge of piracy over the last 15 to 20 years, but what we don’t want to see is our ability to move on those’ global commons’ [oceans] being limited. ‘
Andy Smith, head of lobby group Defense UK, said that while the additional investment was welcome, it should not be “sucked in” by cyber and space demands.
He warned of “serious gaps in conventional capacity in our Armed Forces, the result of decades of lack of resources and poor acquisition decisions.”
Admiral Lord West, former Chief of the Navy, said: ‘We will all be safer because of [this spending]. A strong army is good for stability and therefore for our wealth and security.
But sources warned that the Defense Ministry was not in a “utopia” and there will still be cuts to come.
