Britain will lose thousands of troops, slash weapons programs and likely delay a major project to upgrade its nuclear-armed submarine fleet following a once-in-a-decade defence review being published on Tuesday, leaving allies worried the cuts could damage the country’s status as a global power.
Prime Minister David Cameron will address the House of Commons with details of defence cuts that could total as much as ₤3 billion to the defence ministry’s annual budget of about ₤37 billion.
Britain’s military austerity plan comes a day before Treasury chief George Osborne’s long-anticipated announcement of a government-wide programme to drastically cut department budgets and welfare bills.
The largest cuts to public spending since World War II are aimed at virtually eliminating Britain’s deficit, which stands at over 10 percent of gross domestic product.
While Mr Cameron pledges to safeguard funding for British forces in Afghanistan, the US has already raised worries that cuts could leave its key ally unable to take on a major role in military missions in the future.
“This is not a time where you can forget about defence or you don’t reinvest your savings as best you can in defence,” said Jim Townsend, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Europe and NATO. “This is not a time where you can slacken in the need to keep strong and to invest in your military.”
Last week, US Gen. David Petraeus visited London for talks and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used a stop in Europe to emphasize that NATO members must be able to make “appropriate contributions,” despite pressures on national budgets.
In a phone call with President Barack Obama late on Monday, Mr Cameron promised that Britain would “remain a first rate military power and a robust ally of the United States,” despite the budget constraints.
Mr Obama told his British counterpart he hoped the changes would allow the UK to “retain the full spectrum of military capabilities that permits our forces to partner effectively together around the world.”
Mr Cameron was expected to confirm a programme to build two flagship aircraft carriers, likely to cost about ₤5 billion and due to come into service between 2016 and 2018, will go ahead as planned, but that one may be sold after only three years of service.
An order for 138 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets, which are mainly being built by Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, will be slashed, and the aging aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and a fleet of Harrier jets will be taken out of service immediately.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox acknowledged the changes mean Britain won’t have the capability to launch fast jets from its own aircraft carriers for about a decade. “The new carriers will have the new Joint Strike Fighter for them, there is a gap in between,” as Harrier jets are scrapped and the new aircraft are built, Mr Fox told BBC television.
Mr Cameron will also announce how many of Britain’s 175,000 armed forces personnel will be axed.
Relics of the Cold War, including aging tanks and heavy artillery, will be sacrificed as Britain looks to focus on threats from al-Qaida related terrorism and bolster its cyber defences. Britain is likely to offer increased funding to its special forces, and will announce a ₤500 million package for efforts against cyber terrorism.
Mr Fox said the UK needed a military which was “flexible enough to adapt to the new threats, rather than locked into the post-Cold War projects that we had in the past.”
Though Mr Cameron has already confirmed that Britain will replace its fleet of nuclear missile-armed submarines, he is expected to confirm that the ₤20 billion programme will be delayed, meaning the vessels would only come into service from 2027, and the costs would be paid long after the country’s economy has rallied.
Analysts say it appears the military has persuaded the government to limit the extent of defence cuts, but acknowledge that relations with allies like the United States may be harmed.
Paul Cornish, head of the international security program at London’s Chatham House think tank, also warned about trans-Atlantic ties. “If you lose enough strategic capability, you erode the special relationship. It’s a natural breaking point,” he said.
