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Air and missile defence? \u2018One out of 10.\u2019 Civil force? \u2018One out of 10.\u2019 Naval ability to keep sea lanes open? \u2018Two out of 10.\u2019 Production speed? Again, \u2018two out of 10\u2019.<\/p>\n
This is how General Sir Richard Barrons graded parts of the British military in terms of preparedness for\u00a0a future conflict<\/a>\u00a0amid the looming threat from\u00a0Russia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ever since 1989 \u2013 the end of the Cold War, marked by the fall of the\u00a0Berlin<\/a>\u00a0Wall and the collapse of communist regimes across Eastern Europe \u2013 the UK has not invested in\u00a0\u2018the things it needs for a long war,<\/a>\u2019 instead leaving them to \u2018wither\u2019.<\/p>\n The ex-commander of the Joint Forces warned that UK institutions are still operating on\u00a0the complacent peacetime assumption<\/a>\u00a0that protracted wars do not happen anymore.<\/p>\n He told the Long War Conference 2025, held in Whitehall by Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), that the country needs to be\u00a0ready for a long war<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 but that with\u00a0the speed of production<\/a>, \u2018at best, we will be quite ready in about 10 years\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018But I think it will take a bit longer than that. And our analysis and our allies are telling us that maybe we have three to five years,\u2019 Sir Richard warned.<\/p>\n \u2018Depending on what happens in places like\u00a0Ukraine<\/a>\u00a0in the coming weeks, it might feel sharper than that.\u2019<\/p>\n After decades of insufficient funding, Sir Richard said the result can be seen in the \u2018government<\/a>, attitude of society, industry arrangements and the armed forces\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Integrated air-and-missile defence\u00a0system (IAMD) of the country \u2013 both the ability to defend and strike \u2013 are thinly spread.<\/p>\n He explained: \u2018If you want an Iron Dome over parts of the UK that matter \u2013 like the nuclear deterrent, maybe Whitehall\u2026 entry level \u00a375 billion of which we have \u00a31 billion. So we know we have a challenge.\u2019<\/p>\n The navy is also too small to guarantee freedom of navigation. Meanwhile, the mobilisation systems are so neglected that the state no longer knows where its former reserves actually are.<\/p>\n Even the\u00a0NHS<\/a>, the one national institution hailed as \u2018world-class\u2019, is wholly unprepared for wartime casualties on any meaningful scale.<\/p>\n Sir Richard described it as the country\u2019s \u2018greatest risk and the one that gets attention at last\u2019.<\/p>\n Altogether, out of 220 points \u2013 the highest possible score for preparedness for long war \u2013 he gave Britain 55.<\/p>\n \u2018So we are about a quarter of the way there,\u2019 the general said.<\/p>\n Nothing he describes is beyond repair. Solving industrial and financial gaps is expensive, but the general stressed that this is \u2018the cheaper end of war\u2019.<\/p>\n But he said that the political, as well as societal, will to treat the risk as real and therefore spend and build faster is not there.<\/p>\n \u2018Thinking about long war is a standing feature of this century,\u2019 Sir Richard explained.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018Of course, we are not ready for it, but we did not need to be for a long time.<\/p>\n \u2018Now, we need to be. What that means is that this journey back is going to take effort and time and of course money.<\/p>\n \u2018Until we fix it, we are running the risk that our allies will not bail us out or that our enemies will stop leaving us alone. That is not a great strategy.\u2019<\/p>\n He also stressed that the UK is \u2018much further behind\u2019 than other Nato allies \u2013 even newer members like\u00a0Sweden<\/a>.<\/p>\n The government has said that it endorses, and that will implement,\u00a0all the recommendations made in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which sets out\u00a0a vision for UK defence over the next decade<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 including the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.<\/p>\n Luke Pollard, the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, told\u00a0Metro<\/strong>\u00a0that he welcomed the general\u2019s criticism and that he hopes to demonstrate a \u2018very clear progress indicator\u2019 a year from now, after implementing the SDR recommendations.<\/p>\n The politician said: \u2018Now, in the event of something going wrong tonight, do I have confidence that the men of the armed forces can set up? I do.<\/p>\n \u2018Do I want to have more capability to deter Russia tomorrow? I do. Every single day we need to increase our deterring ability.\u2019<\/p>\n Sir Richard\u2019s warning also comes as\u00a0a potential deal<\/a>\u00a0to end Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has raised the stakes for Europe.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_205299912-0e70-300x200.webp\")
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