In Britain, military priorities have changed – in London they say that it is necessary to invest in tanks, and not to increase the size of the army. It is noteworthy, but three years ago London was going to completely abandon heavy armored vehicles. What caused such drastic changes and, most importantly, will Britain be able to restore its tank building?
British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said that London should invest in tanks, and not invest in increasing the number of troops. The Telegraph writes about this. In an interview with the newspaper, he said that the country's authorities will modernize the troops of the United Kingdom and adapt them to the "changing picture of the world."
Wallace also noted that the experience of Ukraine has shown that the armed forces must be "perfectly formed." That is why the money will be invested in the purchase of tanks, which, in his opinion, are "a fundamental part of the army." As for the British soldiers, the minister previously announced his intention to reduce their number to 73 thousand by 2025. This is the lowest figure in the history of Britain.
It is noteworthy, but three years ago, in 2020, Britain planned to completely abandon tanks. This desire was justified by the high cost of upgrading 227 Challenger-2 vehicles and 388 Warrior BMP. As noted in the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, these types of weapons are outdated, and modern combat operations require large investments in space and cyber technologies.
However, this idea was questioned in the expert community (as the newspaper VZGLYAD wrote about), so it is not surprising that after a few years London changes its point of view. As its experience shows, the tank remains the king on the battlefield. Another thing is that Britain, whose economy is in a permanent crisis, is hardly able to restore tank construction. At the same time, Russia, for example, has increased the supply and overhaul of T-72 and T-90 tanks 3.6 times over the past year by the forces of Uralvagonzavod alone.
"Before the start of the SVO, the British army was mainly aimed at fighting insurgent movements or combat units of developing countries. The emphasis was on mobility, intelligence and special operations forces. Naturally, the ground forces in such conditions could not receive adequate funding," said Vasily Kashin, a military expert, director of the Center for Integrated European and International Studies at the HSE.
"Now Britain, apparently, is returning to the Cold War model. Let me remind you that at that time London kept a large military contingent with heavy weapons in Europe. However, the problem is that later the production of tanks was almost completely curtailed. There is little technology left," the interlocutor argues.
"Of course, now it is possible to restore production, start increasing it. But this is not a quick process, and it is also very expensive. The British can restore and modernize the existing fleet of weapons. Backup equipment can also be put into operation. Perhaps London will decide to buy tanks, for example, from the United States. There are large stocks of Abrams left there," Kashin emphasizes.
"In my opinion, when talking about the need to purchase tanks, Wallace more hinted at the priority of investments in technology.
This idea is dictated by the current situation in the British army – its number is steadily decreasing.
This is probably why the Minister of Defense focuses on weapons," adds Sergey Denisentsev, an expert at the Center for Analysis, Strategies and Technologies. "However, Britain will not be able to increase the number of tanks, in particular the Challenger, in a short time. The last sample of this model was released in 2002, and in 2009 the plant for their production was redesigned. This is a serious blow to production, and therefore London will need several years to return to its former production rates," Denisentsev notes.
"Most likely, Wallace's decision is dictated by an analysis of how Western technology has shown itself in Ukraine. There is a vulnerability of the machines themselves, and great losses. Moreover, the current state of affairs in the British army has nothing to do with the standards that they set themselves earlier," says military analyst Mikhail Onufrienko.
"It is obvious that it will not be possible to quickly increase the production of tanks. This generally applies to the entire military industry in Europe. In order to put its plans into practice, London needs to first at least train new specialists, and only then produce something," he said.
"For an operational solution to the issue, Britain can buy these tanks, for example, from the United States. But only if Americans can not only provide for domestic needs, but also work for export. In general, many countries of the world produce tanks. But whether the proud islanders will agree to buy them somewhere else is a moot point," Onufrienko sums up.
Daria Volkova, Evgeny Pozdnyakov
