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In simple terms it is a case of “back to the future” and the reason is very simple: The period of Empire lasted for a relatively short period in our Island history and should never dominate our today or, our tomorrow or even thinking especially on Defence.

The UK today is back where it has sat most comfortably in the last 1,000 years, a maritime trading nation off the coast of Europe. It should be remembered that the “Empire” and the Colonial period grew directly out of trade rather than military expansion. Further as island races, the sea and ships formed a constant background to our history.

Consider Our Options

We need a reasonable sized Navy and highly trained Sailors to man and fight the ships, we always have. The most off the wall comment I ever heard was by a Naval Historian who made the claim that it was the Royal Navy who won the Battle of Britain and not the RAF !

Although said slightly tongue in cheek, his point was that the threat to the Nazi invasion of Britain came from the Royal Navy being able to disrupt both the landings and the supply chain from France once ashore. Given the size of the British Fleet it needed to be attacked heavily from the air which meant that its air cover in the shape of the RAF, had to be destroyed

Trident Replacement

We are far too small in terms of landmass to absorb a major nuclear strike and remain viable, therefore our Trident missile submarines act firstly as a “Deterrent” and failing that, “Extreme Retaliation” after we have been wiped out. Whilst we build the submarines in the UK, the missile technology is wholly American even down to servicing them.

The objective must be to get rid of nuclear weapons totally across the world but probably, we still have to proceed with replacing Trident Program at this time.

The Two Aircraft Carriers

We don’t need them and mainly because we no longer have an independent aircraft industry to design and build planes to fly from their decks, we will be dependent upon the American built F35. However, there is another consideration which is likely far more important, the costs and time it takes to train pilots. The question has to be posed as to whether high performance manned aircraft really have a place in the modern war at sea or even potentially supporting opposed coastal landings.

We do need Aircraft Carriers but far smaller ships, simpler with fewer crew, probably 5 or 6 of them and mainly flying UAVs (Unmanned Ariel Vehicles) and Helicopters. As the American Predator type of UAV has demonstrated in both Iraq and Afghanistan, their sheer ‘persistence’ through long patrols where you can change the crew back at base but keep them flying is amazing. The impact such a Carrier would have on ‘Pirate Patrols’ around the Horn of Africa as an example, could be quite dramatic.

Being America’s Best Friend

Whilst the alliance with the USA is obviously important to the UK and often to the US as well, trying to “ape” American military capabilities is not the way to go. I am certain that any American President would appreciate more, an ally that could field and sustain 50-100,000 troops in theatre than a British Navy consisting of two Aircraft Carriers which the Americans have to provide escorts for.

As in any close relationship, ‘complimentary’ abilities rather than ‘identical’ ones lead to the greatest harmony and a fair division of the burden.

Back to the Future

We need to divest ourselves of this ‘global reach’ idea for now and return to a basic starting point which is defending these islands from direct military attack, infiltration and smuggling of all kinds. We need as a matter of policy, to look towards Food and Energy Security plus ensuring that within these islands, we have the means, expertise and raw materials to build and manufacture our “weapons of war”.

Whether done under licence, through indigenous development or a mixture of both, we need to build a UAV industry with the most successful designs being capable of mass production. As the Navy will need expanding, that will boost shipbuilding in the UK plus as coastal patrols need to be increased dramatically, a ship conversion industry could arise from turning decommissioned Trawlers into warships.

There needs to be a significant expansion of the Army both for Home Defence and Overseas Expeditions and right across the Services, a substantial budget for training purposes including live firing.

Operational Scope

We should be able to patrol and defend our immediate area, sustain a sea bridge between the UK and the Americas as far south as the Caribbean , provide support to Norway and the same down to the Straits of Gibraltar.

It is only once these key issues have been nailed down that we can start looking at operations further afield. Right now we seem to have become stuck in a time warp mindset from the past without the resources to sustain it. British vital interests start within the UK and extend outwards, Defence should follow the same pattern.