by Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
A new report in the UK has come out with a shopping list of what the Royal Navy needs to deal with future challenges, at a time when the upcoming election raises questions about defense spending..
Among the recommendations – build more submarines, frigates, destroyers and supply ships. Plus, the navy is urged to embrace the idea of an “arsenal ship”, a vessel capable of firing large numbers of missiles.
All this is included in the report called “A More Lethal Royal Navy: Sharpening Britain’s Naval Power.” It was written by William Freer and Emma Salisbury and published by the Council on Geostrategy, which says it has a “particular focus on Britain’s naval power and reach.”
The forward to the report notes that “a number of hostile states and competitors have grown stronger at sea over the past decade, countries which have sought to subvert the international order. To meet this challenge, it is widely acknowledged that Britain needs a larger and even more capable fleet.”
The Royal Navy currently has six nuclear attack submarines (SSNs) – five Astute class, with two more in the works, and one Trafalgar class. Under the new AUKUS program, a joint effort with the US and Australia, the Astute class subs would be replaced by a new class of SSNs. The report urges the UK to buy 12 of those submarines.
It also says the navy should “ensure their design has significant land-attack and anti-ship missile capability, including vertical launching systems,” which could eventually serve as a platform for future hypersonic cruise missiles.”
The report notes that the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate is aging and heavily overworked, and urges they be replaced by buying more Type 26 and Type 32 models. It also suggests that the Type 26 be equipped with the Anti-Submarine (ASROC) system.
“Russia and (China) are both placing heavy emphasis on their submarine fleets and (anti-submarine warfare) frigates will be in higher demand in the coming years,” the report says.
Young Bang, Principal Deputy, Asst. Sec. of the Army, Acquisition, Logistics & Technology
The report also recommends buying eight Type 83 destroyers to boost the fleet to 32 ships, speeding up the Fleet Solid Support Programme which is designed to keep warships at sea resupplied, and accelerate its look at the concept of an “arsenal ship”, which both the US and Australia are exploring.
“The recommendations of this report, if carried out in full, necessitate a shift in British strategy towards viewing seapower as a national endeavor,” the authors write.
The report was released as the UK is preparing for a general election July 4. Both Conservatives and Labour have pledged to boost defense spending.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised that spending on the military would rise to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2030. Sunak and his Conservative Party say that would mean an extra $97 billion for defense over six years.
Sunak’s Labour party challenger, Keir Starmer, also says he’ll boost defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP. He accuses the Conservatives of hollowing-out the military, noting “after 14 years of the Conservatives, the British Army has been cut to its smallest size since it fought Napoleon and one in five of the Royal Navy’s ships have been removed from service.”
The Royal Institute of International Affairs, the think tank better known as Chatham House, notes that even with raising the budget, the British government faces difficult decisions regarding the military.
“The UK will struggle to upgrade its military presence in either the Middle East or Indo-Pacific while war still rages in Europe – even with an increased defence budget,” a report says. “The spending increase does not obviate the need for tough choices on where to focus, with the lion’s share of attention increasingly going towards Ukraine and the UK’s contribution to European security.”
