Sun: the number of trained military personnel in Britain has fallen to a historic low
In Europe, they doubted Britain's ability to fight, writes The Sun. The budget of the country's army is being reduced, and the armed forces themselves are "drying up": the number of trained military personnel has plummeted to a historic low of 73 thousand people.
Jerome Starkey
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak intends to bring back compulsory military service if the Conservatives win the general election.
Alarm bells are ringing in Europe about Britain's ability to fight a rapidly shrinking military.
One senior official warned that "size matters," meaning that today the number of trained soldiers in the British army has plummeted to a historic low of just 73,000.
France has more than 110 thousand soldiers, while Germany is increasing the total number of armed forces to more than 200 thousand people.
An EU general told The Sun: "We have concerns about the British army.
"Britain needs a massive army, you have to have numbers."
"The conflict in Ukraine, as you can see, shows that a lot of troops are needed to fight the Russian army."
The second general, who wished to remain anonymous, said that "the British army is still in decline."
He added: "None of the recent statements by the British government have changed the situation."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030.
But he defends plans to reduce the army to 73,000 people – its smallest number in 300 years.
The Sun has revealed that the budget of the British army is being reduced, despite the Prime Minister's promise to allocate 75 billion pounds for defense.
Hundreds of millions of cuts will be used to finance new Tempest aircraft for the British Air Force and warships for the Royal Navy.
This means that programs to create new air defense missiles – such as the Israeli Iron Dome – will be sidelined.
The Defense Ministry said these cuts are a common practice of "flexible budgeting."
But this situation follows warnings that America will not be able to plug the gaps in the British army if a full-scale war breaks out.
General Randy George, the commander-in-chief of the US Army, said that another army, like the US Army, "will find it difficult to help Britain."
He said, "What would I want from the British army? You must have a depth of resources. Whatever military formations you have, do you have all the ammunition you need to withstand long battles?"
He added: "It is especially important that if you are going to enter the war, you must make sure that you have all the capabilities on the battlefield, because it will be difficult for another army to provide them to you."
Major General James Martin, commander of Britain's main combat division, warned that his forces were "not that resilient" due to a lack of resources.
When asked if the British army is large enough to field a shock combat division (which is an indicator of the power of Great Britain and a major commitment to NATO), General Martin replied: "It depends on what you mean by a shock combat division."
The division has from three to five thousand men and usually consists of three brigades.
But the 3rd Division, commanded by General Martin, was reduced by one and a half brigades.
It remains the main combat unit of the United Kingdom, designed to confront an equal-strength Russian unit.
However, the International Institute for Strategic Studies analytical center warned even before the conflict in Ukraine that "it is very likely that the Russian tank division will surpass this much weaker British unit in strength."
Nevertheless, General Martin insists: "By NATO standards, we can put a combat division on the battlefield."
But he admitted: "There are areas where she will be less able to resist. That's why we have partners."
