Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 22
22
We share Brigadier Barry’s concern about the message that any reductions in the Army’s ability...
Recommendation
We share Brigadier Barry’s concern about the message that any reductions in the Army’s ability to conduct high-intensity warfighting in defence of NATO may send to both our allies and adversaries. Whatever the specific conclusions that emerge from the Integrated Review, the Army must retain (or perhaps regain) its credibility. From the evidence provided we doubt whether, currently, the Army has sufficient armoured capability to make an effective contribution to NATO deterrence. We have agreed this report before publication of the Integrated Review: in its response, the Department should set out what effect any reduction in the Army’s headcount as a result of the Review will have on delivery of armoured vehicles and on the Army’s ability to deploy them. (Paragraph 89) Obsolescent and outgunned: the British Army’s armoured vehicle capability 57
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Integrated Review has set the British Army on a course of radical transformation. Under ‘Future Soldier’ we will transform to become an Army that is more agile, more integrated and more expeditionary – ready for the next challenge, not the last. The Army proposition was based on an understanding of current and future NATO requirements and the UK contribution to NATO. As part of the Integrated Review the Army will: • Invest c£1.3 billion in armoured capability by upgrading 148 main battle tanks to Challenger 3. • Accelerate and enhance the Boxer programme to deliver full operational capability by 2030. It will become the primary mechanised infantry platform for the Army. • Procure a new ground-based air defence system to give the Army the capability to defeat all modern airborne threats, including small drones. • Invest over £250 million over ten years in the Guided MLRS (GMLRS) which will provide an upgraded long-range rocket artillery platform. • Invest over £800 million over ten years on a new automated Mobile Fires Platform to deliver enhanced close support artillery systems and greater operational mobility. • Invest over £200 million over ten years in a new electronic warfare and signals intelligence. • Introduce a new medium lift helicopter in the mid-2020s will enable a consolidation of the Army’s fleet of medium lift helicopters from four platform types to one. This will allow the Army to generate two Heavy Brigade Combat Teams formed from the modernisation of two Armoured Infantry Brigades. Over the next decade these will be equipped with Ajax armoured reconnaissance, Challenger 3 Main Battle Tanks and Boxer mechanised infantry vehicles. We will also have a fleet of AH-64E aircraft, the most advanced variant of Apache, which will replace the Apache AH Mark 1.