Britain’s military may be unable to cope with the weaponry of foreign powers and even terrorist groups within 20 years, a report by the Ministry of Defence (has warned.
The study, written by the MoD’s Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre, an internal think tank based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, admits that “our key [weapons] systems may be vulnerable to technical exploitation or capability overmatch”.
The conclusions in the paper, which was quietly published on the MoD website earlier this month, may raise questions about the long-term effectiveness of the UK’s military technology, including its two new aircraft carriers and a planned new generation of nuclear submarines, as well as its ability to engage in a “full spectrum” of operations, from counter- insurgency to conventional battles.
Tim Ripley has been writing on defence issues since 1990, for a wide range of British and international publications. He has reported from conflict zones in the Balkans and Middle East, as well as major defence and aerospace industry exhibitions around the world. Recent assignments include the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia, the Farnborough, Paris, Dubai and Singapore Airshows, NATO Headquarters in Brussels, The Hague war crimes tribunal and the Pentagon in Washington DC.
His news reporting and features have appeared in the mainstream news media (The Sunday Telegraph, The Economist, The Scotsman) as well as specialist defence publications (Jane's Defence Weekly, Jane's Intelligence Review, Jane's Sentinel, Air Forces Monthly, Air International, Defence Helicopter, Unmanned Vehicles, Flight International, Flight Daily News, World Air Power Journal, International Air Power Review)
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