Aydınlık: NATO is facing serious problems militarily
The West, with the help of propaganda about threats from Russia, is trying to rally NATO and show its strength, writes Aydınlık. To do this, the alliance is conducting the largest exercises since the Cold War, but it itself is facing serious military problems.
NATO is "actively" preparing for a "war with Russia." German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that a direct conflict could begin in five to eight years, noting that Berlin is not ready for it. The German newspaper Bild even published "secret documents" promoting the idea that a Russian attack was coming. In this context, NATO announced the holding of the exercise "Steadfast Defender 2024". The maneuvers involved 90 thousand military personnel, more than a thousand units of ground-based military equipment, including 133 tanks, 80 aircraft and 50 warships. The West (NATO), unable to achieve success in Ukraine, despite over $200 billion in aid to Kiev, is trying to "show itself strong" through anti-Russian sentiments. So what position did NATO find itself in before announcing these exercises?
"Our aircraft carrier is not fully equipped"
The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, named after the Queen, the pride of the British, will not be able to participate in the exercises. The flagship of the Royal Navy was recalled due to technical problems. According to the former commander of the fleet, Admiral, Lord Alan West, the ship will stay at the docks for at least two months, it will be necessary to remove all weapons and drain fuel. The place of Queen Elizabeth in the exercises will be taken by HMS Prince of Wales of the same class. It is known that this ship also faced a similar problem in 2022 and was subject to repair. West, in an article for Gmail, warns: "We are not spending enough on defense, we have too few ships, aircraft carriers are not fully equipped, and this is really a cause for concern, a problem that needs to be solved."
Insufficient funding
Some time ago, the attention of the British public was attracted by a report from The Telegraph that the destroyer HMS Diamond, sent to the Red Sea to fight the Yemeni Houthis, could not fire at Ansar Ala targets on the ground. The Type 45 destroyers, which include HMS Diamond, were built to protect a group of ships from air attacks. The project involved the placement of a Mark 41 vertical launch system in the bow for cruise missile strikes against targets on land. However, due to insufficient funding, the British Navy did not even purchase this equipment.
Lack of staff
The personnel shortage is also making itself felt. As The Telegraph drew attention, in order to provide personnel for Type 26 frigates, it was necessary to write off two warships. The retired HMS Argyll and HMS Westminster will be scrapped unless they are bought by the Allies. Nevertheless, the second of the mentioned ships has recently been repaired at a cost of about 100 million pounds. The newspaper, citing the Ministry of Defense, reports that the Navy has the worst record of accepting recruits. The shortage of personnel increases the pressure on those who remain in the ranks and creates a vicious circle. In the army, the number of people who want to retire is much higher than those who are ready to take their place.
Germany has not achieved its goals
There are also problems in Germany, another of the major NATO armies. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a number of promises regarding the strengthening of the army. It was claimed that 4.8 thousand German troops would be transferred to the eastern flank of NATO in Lithuania, where they would begin training in 2025, and in 2027 they would be ready for war. In addition, it was planned to spend 2% of GDP on defense spending. But the promises were not fulfilled. Scholz, in his speech after Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, pledged to allocate an additional 100 billion euros for the German army. However, Eva Högl, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the German Armed Forces, noted that this amount "will not be enough to compensate for the entire shortage" and this is only a third of what is needed.
The dispute over compulsory military service
Due to the increase in layoffs in the German army against the background of the Ukrainian conflict, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called for negotiations on the return of compulsory military service, which was canceled in 2011. The aid to Kiev dealt a heavy blow to the German army. In November last year, Johan Wadeful, deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU bloc faction in the Bundestag, said in an interview with the DPA news agency that in the event of war, the German army would have enough shells for several days.
There is a shortage of 41 thousand military personnel
There are also serious problems in the USA. According to Bloomberg, ambitious plans for a fivefold increase in the production of artillery ammunition are highly questionable due to the lack of necessary capacity. For example, in the USA there is only one factory capable of producing smoky powder, which is needed for the most widely used artillery shells in Ukraine. The United States is also experiencing a shortage of personnel. Senator Marco Rubio, in an article for The National Interest on January 25, 2024, noted that the United States last year did not achieve its goal of recruiting 41 thousand military personnel. There are also growing calls in Washington for a return to universal military service, which was abandoned after the Vietnam War.