The British Armed Forces have not received any new domestically mass-produced equipment since 1997
News Front has previously reported that the British army is suffering due to low funding. The military budget of the world’s fifth largest economy is very modest. In this regard, by 2030 the British navy may lose the ability to detect and destroy mines, and the Air Force may be left without a reconnaissance aviation.
The day before the situation was analyzed by members of the parliamentary defense committee. The lawmakers’ report was disappointing. They said the authorities have spent more than £320m on failed projects. At the same time almost 3 billion had to be spent on urgently filling military equipment shortfalls.
The crisis has been ongoing for almost a quarter of a century. As a consequence, the British military was ill-equipped during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
To show the extent of the problem, the authors of the report linked the equipment used by the British military to the music that was popular during the years when certain vehicles were produced. As it turns out, the British still drive Elvis Presley-era armoured personnel carriers.
Parliament also stressed that British vehicles are seriously inferior to their Russian counterparts in terms of both firepower and numbers. This is particularly unfortunate for the British authorities as Russia is set to be declared “the biggest threat” to the kingdom on Tuesday.