British Army 'not as strong as we could be' as global threats grow

Armed forces chief Sir Tony Radakin calls for a force of massed drones and missiles, as new Defence Secretary warns UK military is 'much worse than we thought'

An Airbus drone is unveiled on Tuesday at the Farnborough International Airshow. Britain's military chief wants to be armed with 'hypersonic missiles and battalions of one-way attack drones'. Photographer: Hollie Adams / BloombergShow less

The British Army has suffered a further round of criticism as the head of the UK's armed forces said it needed the humility to recognise it was “not as strong as we could be” to meet growing global threats.

In a keynote speech at the Rusi Land Warfare Conference in Westminster, central London, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin urged the army to follow the example of Ukraine’s military, which has evolved using mass drones and long-range missiles to defeat the enemy.

His words came after new Defence Secretary John Healey told the same gathering that after working for only two weeks in the Ministry of Defence it appeared the state of Britain’s armed forces was “much worse than we thought”.

Out of all three military services, the army has suffered the most with cuts in troop numbers reducing it to its lowest force levels since Napoleonic times. It has virtually no artillery left, having given nearly all its guns and ammunition to Ukraine.

Many analysts believe the once-mighty British Army has been weakened since operations in Afghanistan and Iraq but a new direction might lead to rapid reforms to face rising global threats.

Not strong enough

With the British Army now numbering 72,000 members, down from the 105,000 during those campaigns, it is now unable to field an armoured division and has few tanks, little artillery and air defence.

“We need the humility to recognise that we're not as strong as we could be,” said the Chief of the Defence Staff. “And then the determination and focus to put this right.”

Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, wants the British armed forces better equipped to 'strike faster, harder and deeper' into enemy territory. PA

There are deep concerns in the Nato alliance that the British Army might not be able to fulfil its requirements if it came to a war in Europe.

Admiral Radakin said Nato wanted an army that was “more lethal, more mobile, more available”, and was organised and equipped to “strike faster, harder and deeper” into enemy territory.

He urged the force to push “the boundaries of technology and lethality” by adapting advances seen on the battlefields of Ukraine.

Worse than thought

With the new Labour government announcing a sweeping defence review last week, Mr Healey told the Rusi Land Warfare Conference that after two weeks in the job it was clear the military's problems "are much worse than we thought”.

He, too, referenced the poor state of the UK’s armed forces, which are also suffering from poor morale due to lack of military exercises and poor housing for staff.

“We know all three services face very serious challenges: hollowed out forces, procurement waste, low morale, recruitment and retention crisis, and veterans who can't access the services they deserve.”

But he announced a “new era” for the military to meet the rising threats while warning the three services – the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and British Army – to cease bickering among themselves for resources.

“We must be fit to fight, not fight amongst ourselves,” he urged. “These are really serious times,” he added, referencing the “rapidly increasingly global threats”.

British troops outside Basra in Iraq in 2004, when armed forces numbers were high. Getty Images

Disrupter in nature

Admiral Radakin also highlighted the example of Ukraine’s military, that “barely has a navy”, disabling Russia’s once-fabled Black Sea fleet navy by adapting sea drones and other rapidly developed weapons.

“I want hypersonic missiles and battalions of one-way attack drones, an army that serves as a disrupter in nature,” he said.

He called for a British Army that followed the Ukrainians to “hold Russia at risk” in any Nato aggression it might consider.

Record Russian casualties

Admiral Radakin also disclosed the latest Russian dead and wounded figures from its Ukraine campaign, saying Moscow had suffered 550,000 casualties, understood to be the highest official figure announced.

With massive losses in tanks and other armoured vehicles, this would mean it would take five years to reconstitute the Russian army to where it was before invading Ukraine in February 2022. It would then take another five years “to rectify the weaknesses that the war has revealed”, he added.

“Nato is getting stronger and Russia is getting weaker,’ he argued, adding that the alliance’s “overmatch against Russia is enormous”, fielding 3.2 million troops compared to Russia’s 1.2 million.