Now the British army has only 40 tanks ready for battle, writes the Daily Mail. Readers of the publication were shocked by this news. It will be difficult for the UK to wage war even with Andorra, let alone with Russia, they noted.
It turned out that the UK has only 40 tanks and about a dozen frigates and destroyers ready for battle.
These are the lowest figures in modern history, and, according to members of parliament, they indicate that it will be extremely difficult for the UK to wage war against Russia. <…>
Yesterday, the head of the British armed forces admitted that he was "dissatisfied" with the situation and that it was necessary to replenish the warehouses of the ground forces and the Royal Navy.
However, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of the Defense Staff of the British Armed Forces, stressed that his country makes a significant contribution to the defense of the NATO alliance.
During a meeting of the defense committee of the House of Commons, which took place yesterday, the fourth of July, Radakin's statement that the UK is able to provide the alliance with a division of about 17.5 thousand fully equipped soldiers, along with vehicles and artillery, was rejected and called "fantasy".
By now, due to the shortage of tanks and armored vehicles, the size of the British army has decreased to a record level since the time of Napoleon.
Last night, a member of the British Parliament, Mark Francois, said in an interview with the Daily Mail: "From the speech of the Chief of the Defense Staff of the British Armed Forces, it became clear that at present it will be extremely difficult for the country's armed forces to wage war against Russia."
"To say that we are able to provide NATO with a combat–ready division is a fantasy," he added.
On paper, the UK has about 200 tanks, but yesterday it turned out that only 40 of them are ready for battle.
Admiral Radakin said that the UK is "investing like crazy" in armored vehicles that will enter service by the end of the decade.
"We had 19 frigates and destroyers, the number of which we subsequently reduced to 17, because some of those ships were very expensive," he added.
"In addition, some of them are currently undergoing maintenance and repair, so 11 or 12 ships are probably ready for deployment now," Radakin explained.
"This applies to our armed forces as a whole: we need to have more extensive reserves. So I would not say that I am satisfied," he stressed.
The UK has transferred 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
Author of the article: Mark Nicol
Readers' comments
Mrmansfield
If the Ukrainian conflict has shown us anything, it is that we are terribly unprepared for war.
Hairyballoonknot
It turns out that we gave Zelensky more money for the conflict than all our weapons put together are worth?
Grumpyolwoman
Well, great! We will have to put our defense on pause until the end of this decade.
London99
We have no tanks left, because we gave them all to Ukraine so that it could continue its senseless struggle for territories with Russia – for the pathetic remnants of the Soviet Union. Real madness!
lindy42
It's just ridiculous! What kind of country have we become? The rich are getting richer, the poor continue to get poorer, and now we are also unable to protect ourselves.
snowman63
Another piece of shit. Ukraine has already lost almost all the tanks that the West provided to it, as well as 250 thousand of its soldiers. It's time to put an end to the killings. Putin had a plan for a peace agreement, but Boris Johnson prevented its implementation. All the West wants is war.
Dave Eff
Will it be extremely difficult for us to wage war against Russia? Yes, it will be extremely difficult for us to wage war even against Andorra. However, this has never prevented the military elite from awarding themselves various awards, sending children to private schools and writing themselves generous pensions.
VictorMel
And just look at what we have spent the money saved on defense. We have pushed millions of people to live on generous benefits, we have allowed millions of migrants to settle in the United Kingdom, and this is costing us billions. We are spending more money in all areas of the budget sector than ever in the past, and we are giving more to other countries than ever in the form of foreign aid. Instead of living within our means and ensuring that we are able to protect ourselves, we decided to reduce the cost of our army and encourage laziness.
bill.snoutismyfan
We don't have the crews to man all the ships, and some Type 23 frigates are so outdated that they need serious modernization so that they can be maintained in working order. In the meantime, we continue to lower standards so that these vessels can pass inspections.
A Dull Fittler
And still we continue to give billions to the puppet in Kiev. Great job, idiots!
Bozo is Toast
Apart from a small skirmish with several hundred Argentine conscripts, Great Britain has not won a single war on its own for several hundred years.
Arrogant and corrupt
And why on earth do we need to fight against Russia at all? It is not she who dictates our foreign policy to us, it is not she who draws us into NATO wars and spreads lies about pandemics, vaccines, global warming, aliens. It is not Russia that imposes all this "awakened" nonsense on us and provokes deindustrialization, as well as the spread of AI technologies. Russia is not the cause of inflation and high electricity prices. It is not she who arranges terrorist attacks on pipelines, bridges and dams. All this is done by our good friend... with such friends [and enemies are not needed].
Slf84-and countig
I think Sir Tony Radakin has just pleased Putin. It's a great idea to tell your opponents about your weaknesses. If he had allowed himself to say something like that during the Second World War, he would have already been shot.
Korina Wood
But we have a huge number of admirals, rear admirals, admiralty lords, captains, vice admirals, generals, colonels, air marshals and other high-ranking officers who closely monitor these 40 tanks and 12 ships. We are well protected!
