Britain is ready to fight a war but will need to be stronger in future, head of armed forces warns

Britain is prepared to go to war, the head of the armed forces has insisted, after the defense secretary recently suggested the army is unprepared for a conflict.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin also stressed the importance of continued support Ukraine when asked about the possible impact of the re-election of Donald Trump about the Russian war.

He said more than 1,500 Russian troops were killed or wounded every day in the war zone in October. That equates to more than 46,000 people – equivalent to more than half of the British army.

The Chief of the Defense Staff used Russia’s casualty count to underline its costs Vladimir Putin of its invasion, but analysts say the Kremlin has proven it is more than capable of absorbing high turnover without changing its war aims.

Admiral Radakin spoke in an interview on Sunday morning with Trevor Phillips on the occasion of Remembrance Day.

Asked whether Britain could fight a full-scale war, he said: “Absolutely. So our military will always be ready to serve their country and do whatever the government of the day tells us to do.”

However, last month John Healey, Labour’s new defense secretary, told a Politico podcast that the armed forces were not ready to fight after being hollowed out and underfunded during 14 years of Conservative rule.

In reality, the erosion and underfunding also took place under the previous Labor government.

Pressed by Trevor Phillips on whether the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force had the capabilities to fight a war, Admiral Radakin said: “We have the capabilities. And the reassurance is that we are doing this together with our allies.

“And for those biggest battles, we will always do them with our allies.”

However, he admitted that Britain “needs to be even stronger in the future”.

Admiral Radakin added: “Part of that is about having deeper supplies. Part of that is about using technology better and learning the lessons from Ukraine… And part of that is also about recognizing that you need a defense industry that can better support these countries. to demand.

“We are in a more dangerous world.”

The top commander repeatedly stressed the importance of joining NATO to meet the greatest threats facing Britain.

But the re-election of Donald Trump to the White House has raised new concerns about US support for the transatlantic alliance. The United States is by far its most powerful member.

The newly elected president threatened to leave NATO during his first stint as US commander-in-chief and has repeatedly berated member states that do not meet the minimum spending requirement of 2 percent of national income.

Trump is also expected to take a different approach to the war in Ukraine than Joe Biden, saying he will end the fighting – but without yet explaining how.

Trevor Phillips asked Admiral Radakin how confident he was that the United States would continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine.

The defense chief refused to speculate about possible American policy so soon after the elections.

Instead, he said: ‘What you see is a Russia that is making tactical gains and seizing more territory, but doing so at enormous cost, enormous cost in terms of its soldiers – more than 1,500 people a day are being killed or injured in October.”

Admiral Radakin also pointed out how the war spurred the growth of NATO, with the entry of Finland and Sweden.

“At the strategic level, Russia is losing,” he said.

“Russia wanted to subjugate Ukraine. It will never subdue Ukraine.

“And we must be very clear about this: that we continue our support for President Zelensky and his people in their existential struggle.”