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British MPs criticize the country’s military procurement system as “totally broken” and “putting the military in harm’s way” just two days before the MoD is scheduled to announce its strategy for the British military. are doing.
The Ukraine war exposed weaknesses in the British military, including depleted stocks of vital ammunition, outdated equipment and the smallest land force since the 1800s. In their report, MPs said the UK was at risk of failing to meet its commitment to NATO to deploy an armored combat division.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Defense is expected to reveal how it will counter growing threats from countries such as Russia, alongside plans to incorporate new technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence.
The Parliamentary Defense Committee’s 60-page report states that in order to receive more funding from the Treasury to strengthen the UK’s military and make improvements that “we strongly believe are necessary”, the Ministry of Defence said it needed to “set itself up.”
“For the first time since the end of the Cold War, we must face the prospect of becoming embroiled in a peer conflict with Russia,” the commission said. “This new, more challenging environment requires a defense acquisition system that can… equip our military to fight and win.”
The report makes 22 detailed recommendations on how to reform the UK’s procurement processes, including unfavorable comparisons with France, which “can often procure more quickly and efficiently”. There is. . . than its British equivalent. ”
In a case study, we focused on the delays in the delivery of eight Type 26 anti-submarine frigates and compared them to similar warships that Japan commissioned in a third of the time, as well as three E-7 Wedgetail surveillance ships. The company said the original order price was £2.1 billion for five aircraft, but the purchase price was £1.9 billion, which the company said was “extremely low value for money”.
The review is just the latest scrutiny of the Department of Defense’s procurement processes. It comes at a critical time for the British military.
Britain faces what Chancellor Rishi Sunak has called a world increasingly defined by “danger, disorder and division”. But the UK military was described as “hollowed out” by Defense Secretary Ben Wallace this year, despite having the second-highest annual budget in NATO at £50bn.
An update to the Pentagon’s Defense Command document, commissioned after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, sets out how Britain plans to restructure its military to meet these challenges. is shown.
Among the priorities will be how to get more bang for the buck from the £242bn of new equipment the MoD has budgeted for over the next 10 years.
Admiral Tony Radakin, head of the British military, told the defense committee this month: He further added that he was “not happy.”
Other priorities could include a focus on what Armed Forces Minister James Heapy called “the boring stuff”, such as logistics and spare parts that improve military capabilities but don’t involve flashy new equipment. .
Heppy said this at a global aerospace conference this week. An airplane or a tanker ship.But what we really need to work on is what no one notices [or] It does not overwrite headings. ”
The MoD said defense procurement had not been breached and there was no evidence to suggest inadequate oversight of the Type 26 frigates, adding that two spare wedgetail radars were “held for the future”. Ta. . . Requirements”.
“We recognize there is more work to do, including improving pace and professionalism, and we will set out the next steps towards acquisition reform in our Defense Command document.”
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Military procurement requires a team with a unique mindset / Born in Muir MacDonald, Bath, UK