Defence Review

I think the government got this about right. They did not start with a clean sheet. They were committed to two useless aircraft carriers, with no suitable planes immediately available and with the wrong kind of power plant. They have to be built because it would cost more to cancel. That is over £5 billion down the tubes, but it protects jobs. If we are stupid enough to get into another Falklands war, they may come in handy.

Elsewhere there is good news. The world beating Daring class destroyers and the Astute submarines are to go ahead, giving this country two of the most advanced warships in the world. The two modern fighters remain, Typhoon and Tornado. Harrier goes because it is obsolete. There is an understanding that the cold war is over and, though not admitted to, this nation’s days at power projection of military force, to coerce other countries to do our bidding are over as well.

National defence is a priority and will remain so, with effective and  modern forces for that pupose. There is a recognition that the days of the tank as an invincible offensive weapon are gone and that cyber defence is the new theatre of risk. Trident remains in modified form for a while longer, retaining as we must, an effective nuclear deterrent. All in all, given the mess, the outcome is credible. The retired service chiefs will squeal their protests through the media, but we should ignore them, because they helped put us into the current predicament.

Interestingly Russia is modernising its military. It is adopting a similar general approach to the U.K. It accepts the cold war is over and that threats to its sovereignty and independence do not come from the West.  America is now the only country in the world with global military reach with a foreign policy predicated by its the military thinking. Time for this to change also.