It has been a consistent block by the Treasury that the MOD can have AUKUS subs or GCAP or major reductions in Army. But they cant have all three. We are about to witness a classic fudge that will lead to deep hollowing out. The Government is preparing to push GCAP to the right and string it out with incremental work and no clear guarantees to commit to it. They will be hoping that Japan ( who cannot tolerate an extended time line) will pull out and blame can be avoided. The authors of the SDSR were clear on the funding levels needed. £16/18bn over 4 years wont cut it.
So, we now appear to be looking at an extra £3.75bn, or £4.5bn a year over the next four years, so an extra 0.125%, or 0.15% GDP added to a defence budget, which was circa 2.4% GDP in 2025
If the government believes its own statements about the threat this is not remotely serious
His Majesty’s Canadian Armed Forces are returning to their heritage.
Later this year, new uniforms will begin to be issued, which are a return to the British style uniforms! 👏
Evidently it would've been better if they stayed in RFA but I can't help but be quietly pleased that they're going to return to sea rather than rot in a basin.
A number of LUSV proposals have broken cover from British shipbuilders and designers. BMT's proposal is a long narrow wave piercing aebow, with weapons carried in PODS on a long protected weatherdeck aft.
BREAKING: Foreign Secretary @YvetteCooperMP has strongly signalled that the UK will increase defence spending even further, saying “any lingering cosy assumptions about our defence and security are gone. So too is the post-Cold War peace dividend”.
She said the UK must "face up to the need to do much more so we properly protect our citizens".
Speaking after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Ms Cooper said: “We discussed in the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting how Russia’s weakening on the battlefield against Ukraine is also making them more reckless and dangerous.
“In the face of that threat and the ongoing global instability, the NATO Alliance is vital and enduring, but within it Europe and the UK must do more. We have already been stepping up with significantly increased defence investment. But we have to face up to the need to do much more so we properly protect our citizens.
“Russia is now under huge pressure from Ukraine’s military response and from economic challenges, but that is making them more unpredictable with escalating attacks on Ukrainian civilians, increasing hybrid threats across the continent, and reports of drone incursions. The threat from Russia is increasing on air, land, sea, space, cyber and information warfare.
“Any lingering cosy assumptions about our defence and security are gone. So too is the post-Cold War peace dividend.
“That’s why we need to keep increasing our defence and security capabilities and maintain our support for Ukraine. NATO is the most successful defensive alliance in history and now we need to keep building a stronger Europe within NATO. The safety, stability and prosperity of our citizens depends upon it.”
@britishmarine@WeAreHII@Babcockplc@Navantia_UK 6) In the meantime the fleet that Britain has & needs in future a beyond local seas, appears to be in a death spiral, tied up alongside, sold abroad or scrapped, even its replacements (the other half of a *hybrid* fleet let's not forget) delayed & potentially cut further.
The Royal Navy officer running Project Beehive will tell you he doesn't know where autonomous surface warfare is heading, that this uncertainty is itself the strategy, and that we are living through another Dreadnought moment. Click image for more.
https://t.co/ax2TuX02st
Interesting catch here from @Gabriel64869839.
@BAESystemsplc have been using @MalloyAero T-150 drones, based aboard the RV Triton, which had been given a "lean" crew, to drop sonobuoys in testing for the @RoyalNavy's Atlantic Bastion concept at Portland. https://t.co/l1sUYsyUp5
Cdre Brendon Clarke, RNZN speaking at #CNE2026 says a decision on whether 🇳🇿 New Zealand will select the 🇯🇵Mogami or 🇬🇧Type 31 frigate will be made after RNZN makes its recommendation to the government in 2027.
It's a big UK failure. Navy did what it could with broadening cooperation in the High North, but nothing about the Defence planning and spending in the UK inspires confidence right now.
And the incredibly sluggish progress in the shipyards doesn't inspire any confidence either.
Defence companies and marine contractors are preparing to deploy an array of uncrewed mine-clearing systems to the Strait of Hormuz. The @FT examines what different systems navies are using, including the Royal Navy, and which companies are supplying them
https://t.co/mKBzrgo5Zq