Commando Force not funded to ‘operate in high-threat’ areas

A recent report by the National Audit Office (NAO) on the Ministry of Defence’s Equipment Plan for 2023-2033 has highlighted a significant operational limitation for the UK’s Commando Force.

The report points out a stark funding gap, indicating that the Commando Force is currently not funded to operate from the sea in high-threat maritime environments.

The NAO report explicitly states that there is a lack of financial support for the Commando Force to operate in high-threat maritime environments.

“Commando Force is not currently funded to operate from the sea in a high-threat maritime environment”, adding “Funding of £0.7 billion for the modernisation of the Royal Marines, which will enable Commando Force to operate from the sea in a high-threat maritime environment, has not been included”.

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, expressed grave concerns over the unaffordability of the Equipment Plan in the report, which can be found here.

“The MOD acknowledges that its Equipment Plan for 2023–2033 is unaffordable, with forecast costs exceeding its current budget by almost £17 billion. This is a marked deterioration in the financial position since the previous Plan. Deferring choices on spending priorities until after the Spending Review, while understandable given the government’s ambitions expressed in the updated Integrated Review, risks poor value for money if programmes continue which are later cancelled, scaled down or deferred because they are unaffordable.

The MOD should consider how future Plans can achieve their core purpose: providing a reliable assessment of the affordability of its equipment programme and demonstrating to Parliament how it will manage its funding to deliver equipment projects.”

Brief summary of projects either not Included or partly included in the Equipment Plan

The National Audit Office report on the Ministry of Defence’s Equipment Plan 2023-2033 reveals several critical capability requirements that are partly or fully excluded from this year’s plan. These exclusions, despite being integral to the UK’s defence strategy, have no funding allocated in the equipment plan.

Programmes Not Included in the Plan:

1. Land Environment Capability Assessment Register (British Army):

• Unfunded Gaps: Significant gaps in lethality, air defence, C4I systems, logistics, CBRN, and mobility.
• Internal Balancing: The Army is conducting an internal exercise to modernise forces within existing funding.

2. Warrior Armoured Vehicle and Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank (British Army):

• Costing Uncertainty: Extensions for Warrior and Challenger 2 are still being costed, potentially leading to unfunded pressures.

3. Land Precision Strike (Strategic Programmes Directorate):

• Requirement: A need for a ground-launched precision guided weapon with at least 80km range.
• Funding Status: Programmed for the end of the decade, but no financial commitment yet.

4. SPEAR Cap 3 Electronic Warfare Air-to-Ground Missile (Strategic Programmes Directorate):

• Programme Status: Initial low-cost capability demonstrator under negotiation; full programme confirmation pending by the RAF.

5. Meteor Air-to-Air Missile (Strategic Programmes Directorate):

• Mid-Life Upgrade: Funding of up to £2 billion required for mid-life upgrade, currently not included.

6. Test and Evaluation Contracts (Strategic Programmes Directorate):

• Funding Shortfall: Insufficient funding to replace two contracts ending in 2028; development and procurement funding gap exists.

Partly Funded Programmes Included in the Equipment Plan

1. A400M Transport Aircraft Additional Purchases (Royal Air Force):

• Funding Status: Some funding held centrally; sufficient but does not align with later years’ spending needs.

2. F35-B Combat Aircraft Third Front-Line Squadron (Royal Air Force):

• Capital Budget Shortfall: Increases by £0.1 billion between 2023-24 and 2026-27.
• Operational Funding Gap: Lacks £0.4 billion needed to operate the squadron.

3. New Entries into the Shipbuilding Pipeline (Royal Navy):

• Projects Included: Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance ships, Type 32 Frigates, Multi-Role Support Ships, Type 83 destroyers, Future Air Dominance System.
• Financial Shortfall: Costs are £5.9 billion higher than current budgets.

4. In-Service Extension of RFA Argus (Royal Navy):

• Implementation: Extension of the primary casualty receiving ship is underway.
• Budget Issue: No additional budget was received for this extension.

5. Mine Hunting Capability (Royal Navy):

• Plan Inclusion: Second phase included in the Plan.
• Funding Shortfall: No additional budget for this phase; additional funds sought for Hunt Class vessels until new capability is operational.

6. Future Commando (Royal Navy):

• Modernisation Funding: £0.7 billion required for Royal Marines modernisation to enable operations from the sea in high-threat environments.
• Budget Exclusion: This funding has not been included in the Plan.

7. Directed Energy Weapons (Strategic Programmes Directorate):

• Status: Novel capability with assessment phase funding.
• Review Pending: MOD to review at the end of the assessment phase; may replace or supplement other capabilities.