46 Watchkeeper Mk-1 drones also decommissioned. And the axe also falls on the forces of the Royal Navy

British Defence Secretary John Healey, speaking to the House of Commons on Wednesday, announced cuts and divestments that many analysts deemed inappropriate, to say the least.

In his speech the secretary stressed, "we know these are serious times: war in Europe, conflict in the Middle East, growing global threats... And technology is rapidly changing the nature of war, as we are now seeing in Ukraine. Before the election we knew there were serious problems with defence; a previous secretary told this House last year that our armed forces had been 'drained and underfunded' for the past 14 years. But, as I have told the House since I took office, the problems were even worse than we thought. Billion-pound black holes in defence plans.
Taxpayers' money is being wasted. Military morale is at an all-time low".

"That's why -he continued- we are acting quickly now, to inject investment, get the ministry's budgets under control and start the much-needed reforms to start laying the foundations for the UK's defence". In essence, there is a £22 billion hole to plug. Therefore, "in next year's budget, defence will receive a boost of around £3 billion to start laying the foundations for our armed forces". That is, 2.5% of GDP will be allocated to this sector. In contrast, through the introduction of strict financial controls there will be a £300 million reduction in consultancy spending.

"As technology advances rapidly, I can confirm today, with the full support of our Chiefs of Staff, that six obsolete military capabilities will be retired". This will save the Department £150 million over the next two years and up to £500 million over five years.

Therefore, among the planned disposals, there are those of:

- HMS Northumberland: A frigate with structural damage that makes repairs simply uneconomical.

- 46 14-year-old Army MK-1 Watchkeeper UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) aircraft, now technologically outdated (they should be decommissioned in 2025, Editor's note).

- HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark: landing ships, both effectively withdrawn by previous Ministers, but superficially kept in service at a cost of £9 million a year.

- 14 RAF CH-47 heavy transport helicopters, some of which are more than 35 years old (i.e. 25% of the Chinook fleet).

- Two Wave-class oil tankers, neither of which have been at sea for years.

- 17 Army Puma helicopters, some with over 50 years of service.

"These are not the last difficult decisions we will have to make", Healey said, predicting further cuts to come. This is particularly worrying at a time when Putin is facing a looming threat in a speech to the nation yesterday, when he reserved the right to strike the military infrastructure of Washington and London, namely those countries that have given their approval for Kiev to attack deep into Russian territory with missiles they have supplied. A move that, the Russian prime minister added, "has made the war take on a global character".