The UK will save £500 million by getting rid of military equipment earlier than planned, the Defence Secretary announced yesterday.
John Healey announced in the Commons that ships, drones, and helicopters would be scrapped early, with critics arguing that it would leave defence with significant capability gaps.
Mr Healey told MPs: “I’ve introduced tight financial controls on the department, including a £300 million reduction in planned consultancy spending. We’re getting a grip of MoD (Ministry of Defence) budgets and investing in people and in future technologies.”
He added: “These decisions are set to save the MOD £150m over the next two years and up to £500m over five years, savings that will be retained in full in defence.”
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said Labour was “scrapping capabilities just as the threats to our nation are growing”.
The announcement comes as defence is undergoing a strategic review, seeking to understand and prepare for future threats.
Two amphibious assault ships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, are set to be decommissioned early. Neither ship is due to set sail before its scheduled end-of-service date.
Mr Healey claimed that previous ministers had effectively decommissioned the ships but left them on the books at a cost of £9 million per year.
Fourteen Chinook helicopters and seventeen Puma helicopters, which first entered service 35 and 50 years ago, respectively, will also be phased out.
Each capability has a replacement in production, but none is due to arrive before 2026. Military procurement has notoriously been unreliable at delivering new equipment into service on time, meaning that capability gaps could exist longer than anticipated.
Also included in the cuts are two tankers, a Type 23 Frigate and the Watchkeeper drone system.
The announcement’s timing has caused some surprise due to the ongoing strategic defence review, which has seen ministers avoid answering questions about the armed forces’ future since the general election.
Former Minister for Defence Procurement James Heappy believes that the scrapping of ageing pieces of kit is “not necessarily the end of the world” whilst highlighting that the amphibious assault gap caused by the decommissioning of HMS Albion and Bulwark is “painful”.
