The Ministry of Defence has said the UK is reshaping its approach to warfare, procurement and supply chains in response to lessons from the war in Ukraine, with a greater focus on speed, resilience and new technologies.
In response to a written question from Conservative MP Richard Holden, Defence Minister Luke Pollard highlighted the need for a much faster cycle of learning and adaptation across the Armed Forces.
“The UK’s Armed Forces are learning much from the war in Ukraine, particularly the need for a much faster ‘learn and adapt’ cycle to accelerate developments in our capabilities, doctrine and tactics,” he said.
The changes sit within the wider Strategic Defence Review, which examined force structure, procurement priorities and future capability requirements in light of evolving threats.
A key area of focus is munitions and supply chain resilience, with the MOD confirming plans to invest in so-called “Always On” production for critical ammunition types, aimed at ensuring sustained availability during high-intensity conflict.
Pollard said Ukraine lessons are already shaping how the UK assesses its munitions mix, alongside efforts under the Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme to strengthen industrial resilience.
It’s quite interesting how the main stream media and many internet commentators constantly lament how shite the British armed forces are and how we can’t fight our way out of a wet paper bag completely missed the revolutionary systems fielded by Britain in the gulf based on rapid learning from Ukraine.
We have indications of new systems being fielded in Rapid Sentry and ORCUS. They have also been strong indication of a new battle net capability with T45, Typhoon, F35 and GBAD all being integrated into a common system which is also ground breaking and based on Ukraine experience.
I have heard in numerous occasions how RAF airbases are totally undefended against drone and missile attacks yet both Rapid Sentry and ORCUS have been deployed for quite some time.
Well said. That needed saying. Worth thinking about including M346 in that anti drone ‘battle net’?
The biggest concern for me is we seem to be developing plenty of defensive systems, it’s all well and good having them but at some point the irritating bad guy launching attacks needs taken out as well. Offensive systems seem to be progressing at a glacial pace.
The armed forces do an amazing job with what they have, the thing the government miss is the statement 5000 ton warship off the coast (even if doing nothing) makes. The UK is probably doing a better job of defending the Gulf states than the US but in a quiet way, no grandstanding, but there is an element of visibility to give confidence.
Agree
Oh puleeze. One British warship vs dozens of ships from other NATO countries, and scores from the US.
Apart from the two PJOBs RAF bases are undefended against air threats, be it small UAS or other more traditional weapons.
That doesn’t have to be wrong answer, ‘defend everywhere against everything’ isn’t possible, but any sort of resiliency has been removed due to past efficiency drives.
Providing even basic detection and EW capability against sUAS at every MOB is going to get very expensive, and very different from having a few units who can respond. It’s not just the kit, people are expensive, especially to maintain 24/7 coverage.
I doubt there is much GBAD left in the locker considering what has gone East.
“I have heard in numerous occasions how RAF airbases are totally undefended against drone and missile attacks yet both Rapid Sentry and ORCUS have been deployed for quite some time.”
And you will still, until the MOD show the opposite to be true, not some report in the Independent or other clueless journalist, or until you take into account the other factors I keep mentioning, such as which, and with what, and for how long?
ORCUS detects.
Ninja disrupts and jams.
Rapid Sentry destroys.
They are with 34 Sqn RAF Regiment. An RAF Regiment Sqn has at most a couple of hundred people, if that.
11 Radar linked to Rapid Sentry have been procured, more I read yesterday are on order.
They were deployed to Irbil in Iraq, and since HMG were caught napping rushed out to Kuwait and to Akrotiri, and by that I assume they include the other SBA sites.
Where are the numbers to defend the RAF MOBs in the UK? 24/7? Where is the slightest evidence that that is the case on an ongoing basis?
Marham. Waddington. Brize Norton. Lossimouth. Coningsby.
How many Dets can a Squadron of a few hundred people, maybe less, split into, considering what has been rushed out to the Middle East?
And then, Sky Sabre.
9 + 6 Launchers. 15 SAMOC vehicles, 10 Giraffe radar. Reports vary, and System and Battery is used repeatedly by the MoD to fudge and obscure, but those are the figures I go with myself.
In one Regiment, which it seems of 4 Batteries only 2 might be fully equipped, 2 FG per Battery, 2 or 3 launcher, 1 SAMOC, 1 Radar per FG.
Deployed to Cyprus and confirmed to Saudi Arabia.
Pretty standard it seems in various niche areas where the standby Batteries of a parent Regiment have the kit and the others rotate into role out of training, leave, whatever.
With cuts over so many years, how many of our formations a full Regiments worth of kit?
Where are the rest to defend the main RAF Stations in the UK?
And the most important point that keeps getting ignored. THEY ARE FOR THE ARMY, IN THE FIELD!
So is Stormer in 12 RA in the SHORAD role.
In a war, they cannot be both, without negating both through lack of assets. HMG will rob Peter to pay Paul in peace pretending they are “increasing UK home defence” like they did when they ordered the 6 extra launchers, but the fact remains if 3 UK Division and the rest of the Field Army deploy, so in effect, the ARRC, they were bought for the defence of those formations in the field, not fixed bases.
Now when the MoD announce a few hundred bought and the RAF Regiment transformed with more than a single Sqn in GBAD role, maybe by splitting Flights into FP role and GBAD role as Airborne has suggested, then we might be in business in this area.
And we still need cheaper options like AA guns and more Sabre.
Till then, all hot air and spin from HMG I’m afraid. Yes, good systems, yes, networked, all the rest.
But too few.
It is worth pointing out that there is virtually zero threat to UK airbases other than Oreshnik and their is a 24/7 ABM system in Poland paid for and operated by NATO designed to intercept any IRBM fired at the UK from Russia or Iran.
There is nearly zero cruise missile or drone threat to UK airbases. Every Russian sub is being tracked by NATO, every Russian bomber too. ORCUS is the best way to defend against any sneak drone attacks. We know that ORCUS was first purchased in 2020 and we know it’s RAF force protection that use it so why would you not think it’s protecting RAF bases.
Having an active kinetic air defence system like Sky Sabre on a UK base in peace conditions is highly unsafe. It’s fr more likely to accidentally shoot down an RAF aircraft than it is to intercept a none existent peace time cruise missile threat.
Lastly the sky Sabre system is a purple capability much the same as the F35. It’s owned and operated by the army, it’s currently guarding an Airforce base is Saudi. It makes much more sense to have a single system operated by a single user just like F35 than it does for the RAF and the army to each have their own and in war time it will be deployed where ever needed.
I would love to have more but with 9 systems being delivered that is a fair bit of capability.
Systems like Patriot cost $1 billion + per system. For every one of them we need to give up a frigate, army battalion or fighter squadron.
No matter how much cash you have that’s a calculus any military force needs to think carefully about.
There are currently multiple British units engaged in air defence across 7 countries operating 10 ore more systems. That’s quite a deployment thousands of miles from home. That’s not nothing.
Hmm, sort of agree.
I think there is a CM and OWA threat to the UK from the North if the balloon goes up against Russia, and sUAS are now a risk regardless of distance from the Front Line. With the numbers of platforms Ukraine is facing every night I wouldn’t like to guarantee on NATO getting them all.
Having SAMs based permanently at every MOB can’t be sustained, but adding some resilience, and ground works/infrastructure to allow GBAD to be deployed if required wouldn’t be a waste.
In terms of the actual GBAD, I can see the value of the RAF Regt getting back in the AD game beyond CUAS. Defending a busy airbase is very different to defending manoeuvre forces, or even other static sites. Them having SHORAD and even Sky Sabre in small numbers to protect airfields when needed wouldn’t be a bad thing. That would allow the Army AD to be dedicated to the ARRC and anything required through that.
I’m not sure if progressing without some form of Longer range GBAD and T/MRBM is now feasible. Even if just for deployed forces. Certainly increasing options across the whole range of GBAD must now be on the table. As seen recently, GBAD is great to deploy for political effect, even in small numbers.
SAMP/T is a boring name though, Bloodhound Mk3?….
All the above is all well and good but if one gets through there’ll be less of the nice and shiny on the ground and maybe less ability to then hit back. Have side with DM. Every main base should have a least some Shorad missiles, counter drone tech and maybe some cannon all integrated together. Resources, missiles, systems can surely be shared and coordinated across forces to some degree. Can’t afford to be complacent and think there’s enough in place and also we don’t need to overdo it either. Ukraine has got to have sharpened peoples minds. I even think there should be a RAF type regiment for the RN ship and sub ports. Why not get the Reserves involved with this type of requirement? It can be made as strong as need be.
Well said. Spot on.
Where is the contingency planning?
‘According to Ukrainian intelligence, the range of a Geran-2 is between 1,800 and 2,500 kilometers (1,118 to 1,553 miles)…a Geran-2 with a 1,800 km range could reach all of Scandinavia, the Netherlands, most of Germany, and southern Italy. Extending that range to 2,500 km would put all of the United Kingdom, Italy, and most of France within striking distance.
It’s also worth noting that Russia can establish new drone launch pads in just a few months…While these are maximum ranges, and Russia often uses complex flight paths to bypass Ukrainian air defense, the drone attack on Poland highlighted significant gaps in air defense, even on NATO’s eastern flank…at the same time, the cost to a European country to intercept these drones is hundreds of times more expensive than the drones themselves.’
Lucky there isn’t a war on…
The British armed forces are also saying they are shit. Rifts Sea Lord just a couple days ago said the Navy wasn’t ready for war.
* First Sea Lord
I’m happy to give credit where it’s due. But we’re still well behind the curve on significant systems.
Everyone is lauding the T31s actually looking like they may be in the water soon – if you actually look at their capabilities they’re terrible ships, far worse than the Type 23s they’re replacing with the sole beneift of them being newer.
Have we developed an effective anti-scooter and spray paint system yet?
A lot of the more interesting capabilities are not talked about for obvious reasons. The media reports based on what journalists know about, which increasingly tends towards ‘nothing’.
Encouraging news.
Surely this “Learn and adapt ” mantra and the need for procurement and supply lines is all stuff we learned in the run up to WW2? Why are we having to learn in all again??
Because that was nearly a hundred years ago, “For it is the doom of men that they forget”, Merlin in the John Boorman, 1981 film Excalibur. Great film if you haven’t seen it.
We could also do much worse than following Watson-Watts comment of, “give them third best to go on with, the second best is too late, the best never comes.”
Cheers CR
Or indeed in the real world at the same time, John Knotts 1981 defence review, that blew up in his face the following year.
Tragically, the absolutely slashed RN fleet Knott was advocating in 1981, would today be called a ridiculous fantasy fleet that we couldn’t hope to acquire!
That’s how far down the RN has crashed.
We just will not and do have anywhere enough Rapid Sentry / land cepter and the like anymore, and zero land based ballistic missile defence even the T45 which only have limited Ballistic defence capabilities but they are mostly in refit and will be unarmed.
I 100% agree with comments i read on here about the slow pace of NSM, this should be fitted at speed, and why only 8 when many are fitting 16, this should be considered, although 8 would be a start, across the 6 T45s, remaining T23s and all the T31s and T26s from the start.
I was also wonder what is happening to the hull mounted sonars in the Types 23s, can they be used to fit them on T31s and T45s, as a second tier defence or are they being reused in the T26s? We also desperately need ship launched rocket assisted torpedoes, in war if we have a hostile sub contact, we can not wait around for helo to be launched.
Can not understand why the 30mm are not being upgraded to mark 2 mounts giving them the option of airburst ammo as well as HE at the ready with all the drones now, and it goes without saying why are these not fitted on the QE class, they fitted for by not with, seems a obvious defence it should have as we have hardly enough pickets and missiles from planes far too costly.
Can not believe we only have one of astutes able to be tasked, due to maintenance infrastructure issues, redictilouis as well.
T23s (built with 18 year hulls to save money) are falling apart T45 under armed and mostly in Refit / Astutes only 1 available — Are they trying to sell the Batch 1 Rivers! Honestly you could not make it up .
There is no way the T45s are going out of service by 2038 as was reported in parliament in last few days as well, as the T83 is not even on the drawing board as they still considering what technology to integrate and how!
Type 45 has a hull mounted sonar. Type 31s don’t have any sonar at all as far as I can work out, which is awful on a (supposedly) modern warship.
Just think if it wasn’t for delays and cost cutting by successive governments we could be looking at a fleet of 12 T45s and 13T26s by now….
Thanks for that I missed it!
Petty pointless as only the helo has toros anyway, although useful for navigation.
And then DE&S commercial get involved and require multiple studies and a competitive tender…
You are forgetting the multiple Gateway sign offs with associated Monte Carlo risk assessments and then you run into HMT and the in year budget constraints.
Then of course you must undertake DEI, Sustainability and Climate assessments for any new MOD regulation/standard or equipment purchase. This is the same for all public procurement and it is the reasons why everything the public sector does is too expensive and far too slow. I see it every day and see no sign of change.
More bullshit from Pollard.