VIEW FROM THE CHICKENHAWK ROOST
We must send a signal to Putin and spend a lot more on defence
Keir Starmer walks with Admiral Sir Tony Radakin as he hosts Armed Forces Chiefs at Downing Street (Photo: Ian Vogler – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
The acknowledgement by Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, head of the UK Armed Forces, that the Cold War has turned hot, and we are entering the “third nuclear age” is unsurprising, given the proliferation of weaponary by China, Russia and the US.
What makes it all the more stark, however, is the Veterans Minister’s warning this week that our Army would be lucky to last six months on the battlefield. Successive governments seem to have relied on luck for our collective defence and security since the end of the Cold War, rather than hard facts on the threats we face.
Radakin is clear that Vladimir Putin’s regular threats to attack London with nuclear weapons have no substance. Our own nuclear defence is at least fit for purpose and will always prevent a strike on Britain.
However, I don’t think that is enough. Every prime minster since Winston Churchill has stated that the defence of these Isles is their number one priority, but as is evident today, few meant it.
Unfortunately for us, the tyrants around the world know this and are mercilessly exploiting our ambivalence to conventional defence capabilities. With the realisation that our tanks will only survive a few months against Russian armour, you would think that Whitehall would be sprung into action to right this obvious wrong.
However, in true “Yes Prime Minister” fashion, they’ve commissioned a defence study to report next year for a “new model army” ready for the end of the decade.
squareHAMISH DE BRETTON-GORDON
The world is inching ever closer to nuclear warREAD MORE
If the new team in Westminster and Whitehall are as free thinking and innovative as claim, they should focus immediately on the most effective element of the UK’s defence – our nuclear deterrent – and enhance it.
This means gaining battlefield nuclear weapons which we do not currently have. Our only operational nuclear weapons system is Trident, which would be launched from four submarines.
Our strategic nuclear deterrent, which Trident is, has prevented strategic global conflict since the end of the Second World War, but perhaps a tactical or battlefield nuclear capability would prevent the sort of war we are seeing in Ukraine now?
One battlefield nuclear missile would destroy hundreds of Russian tanks at a stroke, and more importantly would probably prevent Putin or one of the other tyrants who are threatening us at the moment actually deploying them in the first place.
Not unsurprisingly, the Government’s focus is on the Russian threat in Europe. But it seems likely that President Donald Trump is going to force some sort of peace on Zelensky and Putin. While this might give us some breathing space for the Defence Review and new model Army to develop, it is unlikely to slow the nuclear proliferation.
We must send a signal to Putin and spend a lot more on defence (ideally 3 per cent of GDP), and at least look at increasing our nuclear deterrent to make up for the shortcomings.
No 10 and 11 need to listen to Radakin’s warning – if we do not have a credible deterrent in place, we are just waving our White Flag.
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon OBE is a former commander of UK and Nato CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) forces
Senior U.K. commander warns of ‘Third nuclear age’
By Danica Kirka - Associated Press - Thursday, December 5, 2024
LONDON — The head of Britain’s armed forces has warned that the world stands at the cusp of a “third nuclear age,’’ defined by multiple simultaneous challenges and weakened safeguards that kept previous threats in check.
Admiral Tony Radakin, chief of the defense staff, said Britain needs to recognize the seriousness of the threats it faces, even if there is only a remote chance of Russia launching a direct nuclear attack on the U.K. or its NATO allies.
While the Cold War saw two superpowers held at bay by nuclear deterrence and the past three decades were characterized by international efforts to restrict the spread of nuclear weapons, the current era is “altogether more complex,” Radakin said Wednesday in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute.
“We are at the dawn of a third nuclear age…’’ he said. “It is defined by multiple and concurrent dilemmas, proliferating nuclear and disruptive technologies and the almost total absence of the security architectures that went before.”
Challenges faced by the West include Russia’s threat to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, China’s drive to build up its nuclear stockpiles, Iran’s failure to cooperate with international efforts to limit its nuclear program, and “erratic behavior” by North Korea, Radakin said. All of this comes against a backdrop of increasing cyber-attacks, sabotage and disinformation campaigns aimed at destabilizing Western countries.
He described the deployment of North Korean soldiers alongside Russian forces on Ukraine’s border as the year’s “most extraordinary development,’’ and warned that further deployments were possible.
The annual lecture by the chief of Britain’s defense staff is a tradition at RUSI, one of the country’s foremost think tanks on military and strategic issues.
Radakin used the lecture to make the case for continued reforms in the British military so the U.K. is prepared to respond to the changing international landscape. That includes maintaining Britain’s nuclear deterrent, which is “the one part of our inventory of which Russia is most aware and has more impact on Putin than anything else,” he said.
Britain keeps at least one submarine armed with nuclear missiles at sea at all times so that it can respond in the event of a nuclear attack.
The U.K. government is currently conducting a strategic defense review to determine how its armed forces should be staffed and equipped to confront the new challenges. The results are due to be published in the first half of next year.
FILE - Britain’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Tony Radakin attends a Ceremonial Welcome for the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his wife Sheikha Jawaher, at Horse Guards Parade in London, on Dec. 3,
By Danica Kirka - Associated Press - Thursday, December 5, 2024
LONDON — The head of Britain’s armed forces has warned that the world stands at the cusp of a “third nuclear age,’’ defined by multiple simultaneous challenges and weakened safeguards that kept previous threats in check.
Admiral Tony Radakin, chief of the defense staff, said Britain needs to recognize the seriousness of the threats it faces, even if there is only a remote chance of Russia launching a direct nuclear attack on the U.K. or its NATO allies.
While the Cold War saw two superpowers held at bay by nuclear deterrence and the past three decades were characterized by international efforts to restrict the spread of nuclear weapons, the current era is “altogether more complex,” Radakin said Wednesday in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute.
“We are at the dawn of a third nuclear age…’’ he said. “It is defined by multiple and concurrent dilemmas, proliferating nuclear and disruptive technologies and the almost total absence of the security architectures that went before.”
Challenges faced by the West include Russia’s threat to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, China’s drive to build up its nuclear stockpiles, Iran’s failure to cooperate with international efforts to limit its nuclear program, and “erratic behavior” by North Korea, Radakin said. All of this comes against a backdrop of increasing cyber-attacks, sabotage and disinformation campaigns aimed at destabilizing Western countries.
He described the deployment of North Korean soldiers alongside Russian forces on Ukraine’s border as the year’s “most extraordinary development,’’ and warned that further deployments were possible.
The annual lecture by the chief of Britain’s defense staff is a tradition at RUSI, one of the country’s foremost think tanks on military and strategic issues.
Radakin used the lecture to make the case for continued reforms in the British military so the U.K. is prepared to respond to the changing international landscape. That includes maintaining Britain’s nuclear deterrent, which is “the one part of our inventory of which Russia is most aware and has more impact on Putin than anything else,” he said.
Britain keeps at least one submarine armed with nuclear missiles at sea at all times so that it can respond in the event of a nuclear attack.
The U.K. government is currently conducting a strategic defense review to determine how its armed forces should be staffed and equipped to confront the new challenges. The results are due to be published in the first half of next year.
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