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The UK government has announced that it will save £500m by decommissioning old military equipment ahead of schedule, according to the country’s defence secretary, John Healey. The scrapped equipment will include ships, drones and helicopters, some of which date back more than 50 years. However, critics argue that this will leave the UK with weaker defences at a time of increased global threats. The move comes after more than a decade of funding pressures on the UK’s armed forces.
The decommissioned equipment includes the HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, two amphibious assault ships; a Type 23 frigate, the HMS Northumberland; two tankers, the RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler; 14 CH-47 Chinook helicopters, the oldest currently in use; 17 Puma helicopters, which were introduced more than 50 years ago; and Watchkeeper WK450 Mk1 drones. Healey claimed that the move will help to implement the strategic defence review, which is set to report back next year.
The government has stated that the HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark were not currently seaworthy and would not have been used before their scheduled retirement. However, after their retirement, the UK will have no amphibious assault ships. Structural damage has rendered repairs to the HMS Northumberland uneconomical. The new Type 26 frigate and multi-role support ships that will replace the scrapped vessels are not expected to be in operation for several years. The Pumas and CH-47s will be replaced by new helicopters in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
Experts suggest that the cuts are a sign of significant funding pressures on the Ministry of Defence (MoD). However, Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, argued that the equipment being decommissioned was either approaching retirement, already at low levels of readiness or not worth further investment. The MoD argues that the savings will be retained within the defence sector and that all personnel affected will be either redeployed or retrained
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