The United Kingdom has fallen behind Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran in terms of defense funding, according to a report by The Times.
Over the past decade, Britain’s defense budget has grown by only 14% (in 2022 cash terms), while Russia, Iran, and China have experienced significantly larger increases of 34%, 57%, and 60%, respectively, as highlighted by research from the House of Commons Library.
This underinvestment has led to a shrinking army, an aging fleet of submarines, and unreliable air defense systems, the publication emphasized.
The Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth, have been plagued by technical malfunctions.
Additionally, the military has struggled to secure the necessary numbers of F-35 aircraft for the carriers, as well as escort ships and support vessels.
“The number that are in the army, navy, air force at the moment is below what is required for the threats that face our nation,” James Heappey, former Minister of State for the Armed Forces, was quoted as saying.
He further noted that the army is set to shrink to 72,500 troops under plans announced by the previous Conservative government.
The UK’s military budget for next year is approximately $71.3 billion, equivalent to roughly 2.3% of its GDP. Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump has indicated that he will urge NATO member states to up defense spending to 5% of GDP, according to the Financial Times.
UK soldiers are quitting the armed forces "at an alarming rate," despite a record pay raise in the summer, the Telegraph newspaper reported earlier in December.
The report said that there were now just two servicepeople per thousand people in the United Kingdom for the first time in history. Over the past 12 months, over 15,000 soldiers have reportedly quit the armed forces, despite the government raising wages by 6%, which is the largest increase in the past 22 years.