British Defense Secretary John Healey announced that the country will retire a number of warships and equipment, thereby saving 500 million pounds (more than 630 million USD) over the next 5 years.
In an announcement to the British parliament on November 20, Mr. John Healey said the military will eliminate 5 warships, 31 helicopters and a squadron of 46 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for reconnaissance purposes, the Breaking Defense website reported.
Mr Healey said the plan would save the UK £500m over the next five years and remove equipment deemed “obsolete”. However, the move has been criticised by opposition MPs.

British Army Watchkeeper UAV
PHOTO: UK MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
The warships being decommissioned include the frigate HMS Northumberland due to “structural damage making repairs uneconomical ”, two amphibious assault ships and two Wave-class tankers.
In addition, the Watchkeeper UAV squadron will also be retired due to cost overruns, along with accidents during testing and operation. Watchkeeper was put into service in 2014 to support operations in Afghanistan, but has not participated in any military operations in the past 10 years. 14 CH-47 Chinook heavy transport helicopters and 17 Puma multi-mission helicopters will also be retired.
UK may lack Storm Shadow missiles to supplement Ukraine
The UK defence secretary added that the cuts had broad support from military chiefs, following consultations with the official in charge of the UK's strategic defence review. Mr Healey said the government had informed allies in London and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
Mr. Matthew Savill, Director of Military Science at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), based in London, commented that the vehicles the British army planned to eliminate were mostly obsolete or reaching "retirement age".
“However, the fact that the UK Ministry of Defence cannot allocate human resources for the above vehicle units, or has to cut back to save not too much budget in the 5-year period, shows that the current resources of this agency are limited,” Mr. Savill said.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/anh-cat-giam-vu-khi-quy-mo-lon-du-kien-tiet-kiem-600-trieu-usd-185241121101715952.htm
Comment (0)