The Defense Committee of the British Parliament warned that in the event of an armed conflict, Russian troops could gain significant superiority over the British armed forces in firepower and modern armored vehicles.
British MPs, who drew up a report on the state of heavy weapons under the self-explanatory title "Obsolete and inferior in firepower", sharply criticize the government's attempts to modernize its combat armored vehicles.
According to the authors of the report, a possible "artillery duel" between the British and Russian divisions "is likely to end in a definite victory for one of the sides - and it is not at all necessary that the advantage will be on the side of the British army."
Last summer, the British press wrote that the British armed forces may completely abandon tanks in order to focus on modern weapons.
In the 1990s, the British armed forces had about 1,200 tanks, but today their number is only 227, the document says. It also claims that British armored vehicles are significantly outdated and "lagging behind the capabilities of our allies and potential adversaries." The British deputies call Russia one of the main potential opponents.
Lessons from the conflict in Ukraine
According to the authors of the report, if over the next few years the British forces have to come into conflict with Russian forces, "they will be forced to fight ingloriously with the help of obsolete or even completely obsolete armored vehicles, most of which were made at least 30 years ago or more." ...
The main British tank "Challenger 2" has not been updated since 1998
MPs are urging the Department of Defense to urgently fill the gaps in British artillery units, air defense and anti-drone capabilities. At the same time, they remind that Russia in recent years has actively invested in modern missile artillery systems, which determined its quick victories in the conflict in Ukraine in 2014.
Russia has always denied its participation in the war in eastern Ukraine, but the Ukrainian authorities and representatives of Western countries claim that Moscow directly and indirectly supports the separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
"The profound and consistent destruction of our military capabilities has been caused by several factors, including bureaucratic red tape, military indecision, financial mismanagement and general impotence," said Tobias Ellwood, head of the House of Commons Defense Committee.
“The implications for our ability to respond to threats from adversaries will be very serious and possibly devastating,” Ellwood said. their armored vehicles. The government must understand that such mistakes are fraught with human casualties. "
Army modernization in exchange for reductions
Last fall, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that his government intends to pursue a large-scale modernization of the army and use more modern technology. The head of the cabinet also announced that the country's military budget will receive an additional 16.5 billion pounds over the next four years.
British Defense Department promises to create more modern troops
At the same time, according to the BBC's defense correspondent Jonathan Beale, the government is also considering the possibility of further reducing the size of the armed forces - it may be about the dismissal of up to 10 thousand troops.
Now the size of the British army is already the lowest in the last 400 years - 82 thousand people serve in its ranks.
Boris Johnson will deliver an ambitious report on the country's foreign, defense, security and development strategy on Tuesday next week. It has been called the most important document of its kind since the end of the Cold War.
On Sunday, the British newspaper Sunday Times reported, citing its sources (subscription required) , that a government report, which will be released on Tuesday, will describe Russia as a hostile state. According to the newspaper, China will be called the second country that poses a threat to the UK, but it will be characterized mainly as a commercial competitor. The Sunday Times has not yet been independently confirmed.
As stated in the publication, the report describes the threat from Russia as "the most serious from any state." This is due to Russia's numerous attempts to invade British sea and airspace and "its desire to resort to state-sanctioned assassinations of dissidents on British soil."
The Sunday Times reporters quoted an unnamed senior government official as saying that "the main threat to Britain comes from Russia." "It is in the document. Such words do not say about China. China is a competitor who is trying to steal our intellectual property and it threatens our economic security. But this cannot be compared with what happened in Salisbury," a source told the newspaper. in view of the poisoning of a former employee of the Russian special services Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
Another source told the Sunday Times, "Russia is a hostile state. China is a global challenge. In the case of China, the approach will be that we must compete where possible and resist when necessary."
The government's defense strategy is expected to emphasize the development of modern technologies such as robots and autonomous systems, as well as the fight against new threats in cyberspace and space.
In response to the "Obsolete and Inferior in Firepower" report, a UK Department of Defense spokesman said: "We thank the Defense Committee for this report and agree with its recommendations as we continue to improve the management of our complex and ambitious military equipment programs."
The Defense Department also promises that the budget increase will enable it to create "an updated, digital and networked armored force capable of responding to future threats."
Analysis
Jonathan Beale, BBC Defense Correspondent
The defense strategy document, soon to be published by the government, promises to transform and modernize the British military to prepare it for the wars of the future.
But in their report, the deputies ask serious questions about whether the Ministry of Defense is actually capable of this.
The document describes the attempts of the Department of Defense and especially the British Army to modernize their aging armored vehicles as "a depressing series of bureaucratic red tape, military indecision, financial mismanagement and general impotence." Hundreds of millions of pounds were wasted without any visible result.
As a result, the British army was left with tanks and armored vehicles significantly inferior to opponents such as Russia, both in number and in power.
In order to modernize its tank units, the army will have to significantly reduce its size. Some programs, such as upgrading hundreds of British Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, are likely to be canceled altogether.
The Department of Defense promises "an updated, digital and networked armored force capable of responding to future threats."
But the deputies are not too sure about this. They warn that the army "risks being exposed" in terms of armored vehicles "while it continues to be fed with promises of a technically advanced future.
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