British Army To Be Cut Down To 60,000 Soldiers? | World Defense

British Army To Be Cut Down To 60,000 Soldiers?

Redheart

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British Army is set to be cut to just SIXTY THOUSAND soldiers - the lowest in 100 years - Mirror Online

Defence chiefs are thrashing out plans to further slash Britain’s army down to just 60,000 soldiers, it was claimed last night.

The shocking army cuts plans were revealed by former coalition defence minister Sir Nick Harvey who claimed they were in line with a “financial crunch” faced by the MoD.

Currently controversial plans to severely slash our army would reduce soldier numbers to a force of just 82,000 with the number of reservists rising to 30,000.

This will be the lowest staffing level for the British Army in more than 100 years.

But Sir Nick told MPs: “There are already paper exercises going on in looking at what an army of just 60,000 would look like because of the financial crunch that the department is going to be facing.”

The Liberal Democrat MP, speaking in the Commons, warned MPs that several areas of the UK’s military will be replaced in the coming years.

And he warned defence spending could drop towards 1.5% of national income - well below the current 2.2% which many feel is “endangering Britain’s security.”

Sir Nick also questioned why the renewal of the country’s Trident nuclear deterrent was receiving an “automatic bye”.

He claimed the cost of buying, operating and decommissioning new submarines for the Trident nuclear deterrent could cost more than £100billion over 30 years.

He said:“We know that the national deficit remains a serious problem.

“We do not hear from any of the political parties - not mine, nor anybody else’s - that defence is going to be insulated or protected from a tough comprehensive spending review later this year.

“If defence was to face another cut comparable to that which it took in 2010, which seems to me entirely possible, then the proportion of our gross domestic product that we are spending on defence - which is already destined to go below 2% next year - will make rapid headway towards 1.5% of GDP.

“And yet we know that on the table for discussion this summer in the (strategic defence and security review) is a whole series of big procurement projects.”

He hinted that the future of our new aircraft carriers and surveillance for warfare could be in jeopardy.

He said: “The two new aircraft carrier are due to have Joint Strike Fighter aircraft flying off them, we don’t know how much the unit cost of those is going to be, we don’t know how many we’re going to be able to afford to have.

“The Type 26 frigate is due to be built in the next few years, again it’s very difficult to know what all of that is going to cost us.

“We need more helicopters, we need more Istar (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance) assets..."

A senior defence source said: “What this government is doing in cutting troops numbers and military is endangering our security.

“This is at a time when Islamic State is running riot in the Middle East, launching attacks of the type we have seen in Paris and in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Crimea.

“We are facing a dire terror threat on an horrific scale and a possible new Cold War as well.”
 

Onionman

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It reflects the change in the nature of warfare. Defense budgets need to be realigned to reflect the global terror threat, cyberterrorism, and other 21st century formats. The world of the standing army and tanks on the streets is increasingly behind us in most cases.
 

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It reflects the change in the nature of warfare. Defense budgets need to be realigned to reflect the global terror threat, cyberterrorism, and other 21st century formats. The world of the standing army and tanks on the streets is increasingly behind us in most cases.

Nice reflection. Indeed it's happening now that science and technology are advancing for a new kind of war. It's no longer gonna be a fight of the armies, but scientists and engineers.
 

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I still see adverts to join the army on the television, but most people don't use the army as a career, but as a starting point in their life. They do need to make cuts somewhere and money is spent more on cyber crime and intelligence these days. I don't think it will endanger the country as they have reservists and there are always allies if need be.
 

orangesunset

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The British army only has 82,000 soldiers ? That is a far cry from when Britian was still a super power. Britain does not even have a proper navy anymore. Sad.
 

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Its normal in my opinion since UK is part of NATO. Who is going to attack UK anyway!
 

Gabriel92

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Its normal in my opinion since UK is part of NATO. Who is going to attack UK anyway!

These countries that are still reducing their Armed Forces (and budget) even if the threats are growing and Russia is acting agressive day by day are too much relying on the US,why should they spend 1$ on their defence if the US army is here ?
If the US leaves NATO,the defence spending of European countries will skyrocket (And so the number of soldiers),since the "big brother" will not be here to help them if a conflict broke out.
I don't know if most of European leaders are blind or what ...
 

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That is huge, 60k is a big number and I don't know in what shape or form that is going to affect UK.
 

Scorpion

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These countries that are still reducing their Armed Forces (and budget) even if the threats are growing and Russia is acting agressive day by day are too much relying on the US,why should they spend 1$ on their defence if the US army is here ?
If the US leaves NATO,the defence spending of European countries will skyrocket (And so the number of soldiers),since the "big brother" will not be here to help them if a conflict broke out.
I don't know if most of European leaders are blind or what ...

NATO missile shield makes it impossible for anyone willing to attack Europe. The reduction of troops is justified imo.

Russia is going to sign its own death certificate if it keeps on harassing Europe.
 

Gabriel92

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NATO missile shield makes it impossible for anyone willing to attack Europe. The reduction of troops is justified imo.

Russia is going to sign its own death certificate if it keeps on harassing Europe.

Don't forget that Putin is (Not a normal person) and is capable of everything.
As we say "Si vis pacem,para bellum".
 

kana_marie

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The timing is nuts! The tension all around them has got to make them nervous... Even if it isn't directed towards them directly. I don't think anyone will set out to attack the UK originally, but with the cuts they may decide to go for it.
 

KimberlyD

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WOW talk about bad timing with all that is going on right now with ISIS and Russia. I just posted about the UK Defense Ministry are eyeballing Russian destroyers and a couple of other Russian ships coasting down the English Channel. Wonder if that will make them rethink about the cuts.
 

missbishi

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So we are cutting ur numbers even further. I wonder, is this to pay for the upgraded defence of the Falkland Islands? Personally, I'd feel safer knowing those allocated funds were going to be used in the fight against ISIS and something tells me that we'll be needing as many soldiers as we can get sometime in the near future.
 

Scorpion

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Don't forget that Putin is (Not a normal person) and is capable of everything.
As we say "Si vis pacem,para bellum".

Im sure he wouldn't want to test the patience of Europe and US. He knows for sure that NATO military capability is far superior than what his military has.
 
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