Thin Pinstriped Line

  The Ministry of Defence has published its long awaited document on the role of the British armed forces will operate in the so-called ‘ High North ’. This document is a valuable insight into both goals for the region, and also has wider implications beyond the cold waters of the Arctic. It is well worth a read. While it may sound like a barren frozen wasteland, of little interest or Defence value, the UK is concerned about this region for a variety of reasons. The impact of climate change is opening up commercially viable routes, with an impact on trade in the region. There is a wealth of natural resources, while the UK retains a strong interest in undersea cables and other critical national infrastructure in the region. This is a region which is contested militarily by Russia, which has increasingly boosted its armed forces presence in the region. Even with their lamentable performance in Ukraine, we should be wary of writing off the Russian military too quickly, and their N...

  The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced his financial update to Parliament, providing an assessment of British Government financial spending plans. Despite significant speculation ahead of time that there would be a boost in defence spending, the announcement provides no additional funding, and reconfirms the uplift from the last Comprehensive Spending Review. There is already disappointment building on some channels that the MOD isn’t getting more money in response to the Ukraine crisis, in sharp relief to other NATO nations, but the question is perhaps, does the MOD really need more money right now? The answer is, controversially, perhaps not. This may sound an incredible view to take, but there is a strong logic behind which makes compelling sense. Having reflected on the decision not to provide additional funding right now, Humphrey is of the opinion that, in the short term, this is potentially the right move. Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright When the In...

  The major NATO exercise ‘COLD RESPONSE 22’ is underway in Norway. This gathering of over 35,000 troops, ships and aircraft is a long planned means of testing the ability of allies to work closely together. There is perhaps more attention than usual to the exercise, in part due to timing, which coincides with the horrific and blatantly illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It is important to be clear that this is not a direct response to that act, but instead a long planned exercise. The UK commitment has been significant, deploying HMS PRINCE OF WALES, ALBION, two escorts (a Type 23 and 45), a Bay class LSD(A) and an ASTUTE class nuclear submarine, as well as aircraft, helicopters and 900 Royal Marines and supporting units. This is a significant presence, helping demonstrate the ability of the Royal Navy to send a carrier strike group style force to sea, able to play a leading part in any coalition operation. Of particular note is both that the POW is a key NATO command pl...

    The UK National Audit Office has published a difficult report into the state of the British Army Ajax programme. This complex vehicle procurement, which has seen over £3bn of public money spent on 589 vehicles, of which 26 have been delivered, has become a byline for failure in defence procurement. To read the report is, at best, uncomfortable. It remorselessly picks apart the project, how it was conceived, how it incorporated a huge number of new and technically unfeasible requirements and how the MOD decided to push ahead with this, despite the requirement numbers plummeting from over 3000 vehicles to under 700, and the British Army undergoing radical change at the same time. Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright The outcome is a vehicle that right now has reportedly caused hearing damage to its users, cannot operate at night, or fully enclosed, or carry munitions, or discharge any weapons other than the main cannon. Even though these will change over time...

  Amid the ongoing nightmare that is the appalling Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the horrendous civilian casualties being inflicted by this barbaric war, there are still wider defence stories going on. With this in mind, this article is focusing not on Ukraine directly, although the heroic struggle by the incredible Ukrainian people should be at the front of all our minds, but instead wider news on the Royal Navy and the British Government shipbuilding programme. People observing activity in Portsmouth Naval Base will have not missed the departure this week of both HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and HMS PRINCE OF WALES, two of the largest, most advanced and most capable aircraft carriers in the world. Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright It is a good reminder that for all the doom and gloom stories put about around the perceived state of the Royal Navy, right now there are two British carriers at sea taking part in work to help secure the maritime security of the UK and our ...

  As the war in Ukraine enters its 8 th day, it continues to dominate global headlines. The war, the international response and the wider stories surrounding this most brutal of conflicts remains the main global news story, as nations unite in condemnation of Russia’s barbaric acts. Perhaps the most powerful lesson emerging at the moment is not that of military operations, or use of specific weapons or tactics, but rather the sheer power of the information environment and how it can be exploited to shape perception. Ukraine is the first time that a war has been played out in a western society which has full and immediate access to information, imagery and insight about the war and its impact. While the 1991 Gulf War remains the ‘CNN War’ in the sense that it was the first time that the world got to see a war occurring far from home in near real time, the 2022 Ukraine war is perhaps the ‘Smart Phone War’. Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright A week in and we can se...