BRITAIN needs millions of deadly drones, thousands more troops and to drastically increase weapon stockpiles to be ready for a war, former UK defence chiefs have warned.
Penny Mordaunt and ex-RAF commander Greg Bagwell welcomed PM Keir Starmer’s £6bn military cash boost – but warned it’s only a “drop in the ocean” for what the UK needs against Putin’s advancing army.
GettyBritish soldiers during military drills in Smardan, Romania as the threat of an invasion into Nato territory by Vladimir Putin lingers[/caption]
GettyA British soldier shoots his gun in Romania as NATO Allied Reaction Force training[/caption]
GettyThe first of Britain’s new supersonic ‘stealth’ strike fighters flies over the North Sea[/caption]
The former Defence Secretary told The Sun that Britain must “wake up” to the looming threat of Putin invading the Baltics and bolster our defence even further – and do it quickly.
Ms Mordaunt warned if Britain fails to deter Russia from such aggression by building up its forces, we will pay a “terrible price”.
And Air Marshall Bagwell, who served in the RAF for 36 years, told The Sun there are “nagging” gaps within Britain’s military.
If the UK doesn’t quickly adapt to the Russian threat, British forces wouldn’t be able to play their part in defending Nato against Putin’s advancing army, Bagwell warned.
Veteran airman Bagwell believes the UK’s military needs an extra 26,000 personnel across all forces – warning that the current 130,000 isn’t enough to put up a good fight.
Air Marshall Bagwell told The Sun: “There are 70,000 in the Army and 30,000 in the Navy and RAF and you might think that’s not bad to have 130,000.
“But they’re not all going to be on the front line, they’re not all going to be in planes or ships.”
And he warned that’s not even taking into account the sheer scale of losses Britain and Nato as a whole could suffer on the battlefields against Russian troops.
That means Britain needs to recruit and train up thousands more soldiers and reserves so that there’s a constant backlog of troops ready to fight.
But the airman warned that extra troops – which would take the total to 156,000 – won’t fix the problem because Britain needs to think about what happens if it turns into a war of attrition.
The military should be taking a leaf out of Ukraine‘s book and build millions of drones to be ready to take out Putin’s green men and key infrastructure on the frontlines, the former RAF commander said.
For decades, wars have been fought with artillery and mortars – but kamikaze drones are proving they could be a cheaper and more effective choice, he added.
So rather than throwing “every penny” at conventional equipment like £41million Apache helicopters and mortars, the military should be looking at innovation and changing with the times.
And by bringing next-generation drones to the frontlines, Britain would free its renowned Air Force to prioritise more complex missions like firing missiles deep into Russia if they invaded Nato.
Yet that poses its own problem – as the UK’s air combat power is thin, Air Marshall Bagwell said.
APBritish soldiers before the start of Steadfast Dart 2025 exercise – involving some 10,000 troops in three different countries[/caption]
APRussian servicemen operate at an undisclosed location amid Putin’s invasion of Ukraine[/caption]
ReutersServicemen of the 24th Mechanized brigade, named after King Danylo, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket system[/caption]
Britain only has two F-35 squadrons and six Typhoon fighter jet frontline squadrons with around 100 aircraft and 200 personnel in each.
“Those are incredibly small numbers when you’re not only defending the UK but also Nato because a lot of those aircraft will be needed to shoot down missiles as Britain doesn’t have a ground-based missile system,” Air Marshall Bagwell warned.
“The number of squadrons we have is the same as when I retired nearly 10 years ago, so we haven’t grown.
“If I was a commander of the Air Force, I would like to see that increased to up to 10 or 12 squadrons to be comfortable beacuse that gives you the ability to rest.
“You can’t just throw everyone out into a war and expect them to be there for years on end, it’s not going to work.”
He warned Britain must not underestimate the threat at home either, with Putin’s green men likely to try to attack airfields in the UK during a war with Nato through nefarious means.
Air Marshall Bagwell and Ms Mordaunt both warned that it’s about adapting our technology now – not in a few years.
The former airman said: “The critical move here is to adapt now, before the war begins.
“Ukraine have done an amazing job adapting during war, but that’s not what we should be doing.
“We need to be doing it now, with our defence industrial capacity already fired up so we can be ready.
“You’ve got Ukraine churning out over a million drones a year, but that wasn’t the case three years ago.
“We in Britain need to be at the one million a year stage now, not three years into the fight.”
Putin’s sights on three Nato countries
ESTONIA, Lithuania and Latvia have all condemned Putin’s grinding war in Ukraine.
These major Russian-speaking cities in each country are of historical importance when thinking about the Russian empire Putin follows on from.
Geographically they also all provide important elements, like coastal locations, sea ports, industrial centres or key borders.
NARVA – ESTONIA
Narva – which sits on the border between Russia and Estonia – was first occupied by Russia between 1558 and 1581, and then again in 1704.
97 per cent of the almost 60,000 residents there speak Russian.
It borders a river between the two countries – not far from Narva Bay.
On the edge of Nato’s eastern flank by the Baltic Sea, Narva is Estonia’s third biggest city.
There is a red line painted on the point where Narva crosses into Russia – on a bridge over the river.
Estonian border police told the BBC that thousands of Ukrainians have escaped war zones and fled into Estonia through this border crossing.
Narva has welcomed Ukrainian refugees during Putin’s war, the BBC reports.
KLAIPEDA – LITHUANIA
Lithunia downgraded its diplomatic relations with Russia after Putin invaded Ukraine.
It closed its Russian consulate in Klaipeda, which is bordered by Latvia, Belarus and Poland on the Baltic Sea coast.
The third largest city in Lithuania, Klaipeda is a major seaport.
It has the highest number of native Russian speakers among Lithuanian cities.
Under the USSR, Russia turned Klaipeda into a valuable marine base.
DAUGAVPILS – LATVIA
This Latvian city, in the south, is bordered closely by Belarus and Lithuania.
It is the second largest city in the country and well populated.
It is also only 75 miles from the Latvian border with Russia.
Daugavpils is historically a major railway and industrial point – and was part of the Russian Empire in the late 1700s.
It has an overwhelmingly Russian speaking population.
Latvia has strongly condemned Putin’s war in Ukraine, and has been added to a list of all EU countries dubbed “unfriendly” by Putin.
And Ms Mordaunt, who served as the Secretary of State for Defence in 2019, says Britain must generate the modern capabilities we need to fight against Putin at speed and recognise how “fast threats can change”.
She told The Sun: “If we are ready to respond, we lessen the chance of aggression.
“That means we have to support innovation while mending the fragility of our current equipment.
“Technology and the changing shape of warfare means that that will look different in the future.
“Trump, and his predecessors, have all said we need to step up. They are right. We need to step things up immediately.”
The head of the Armed Forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, has echoed these fears saying the British military “isn’t as strong as we could be”.
He said the Army should be equipped with hypersonic missiles and battalions of kamikaze drones.
PABritish troops load a 105MM Howitzer in Norway during war drills[/caption]
BAE SystemsBarrow’s new Trident sub to be named HMS Dreadnought[/caption]
iStockphotoA Storm Shadow missile[/caption]
That would not only make Putin think twice about invading Nato, but mean Britain can serve as a key disrupter in the military alliance to break through the boundaries of technology and its lethality.
Both Ms Mordaunt and Air Marshall Bagwell welcomed Sir Keir’s vow to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on the military by 2027 and increasing that to 3 per cent by 2033.
The former Tory MP said: “It is a welcome step in the right direction as too is the recognition that more is needed from both us and our European partners.”
But she warned that we should be aiming for 3 per cent – and getting there “swiftly”.
Ms Morduant said: “We have defence leadership, we have amazing business that are producing innovative and needed capabilities, our armed forces are constantly learning and thinking about the future.
“What we lack is the political will.
“We need to wake up and recognise if we fail to bolster defence we will pay a terrible price.”
Trump vows to stand with Britain’s troops
By Harry Cole, Political Editor
DONALD Trump has vowed to always stand with Britain’s troops — as he gave PM Sir Keir Starmer a boost by appearing to back his controversial Chagos deal.
The two biggest potential headaches faced by the PM were whether the President would agree to be a “backstop” for the Ukraine deal, and No 10’s plan to hand Chagos over to Mauritius.
Mr Trump stopped short of pledging US airpower to protect a European peacekeeping force for Ukraine.
But he insisted the US would come to Britain’s aid if needed. On the Chagos deal, he said he was “inclined to go along with” the plan.
The President has an effective veto on Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to cede the territory to Mauritius because of the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia.
Opponents of the agreement — which will see Britain pay billions of pounds to lease back the base — had hoped Mr Trump would block Downing Street.
But, asked about the deal in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said: “We’re going to have some discussions about that soon. I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.
“I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country. It’s early, we’ll have to be given the details.”
It marks a diplomatic coup for Sir Keir who has defended the giveaway deal despite enormous backlash in Britain.
GettyPM Keir Starmer meets British military personnel in Washington, DC[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
