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THE ROYAL NAVY – YOU COULDN’T MAKE IT UP

NOTE: Our News and Views stories are contributed and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor. 

Admiral Keir Starmer, currently running the British Isles aground has warned Russia, the world’s greatest superpower that British warships in siding with Ukraine’s unelected head of state will occupy the Azov Sea.  NOTE: The Sea of Azov is Russian Territory. Meanwhile, money problems force the UK military to scrap warships and aircraft.

‘Difficult decisions are required’ to save the military hundreds of millions of pounds, Defense Secretary John Healey has said

Defense Secretary John Healey has announced that the British military will scrap several warships and dozens of helicopters and drones as it continues to struggle to plug a multi-billion-pound hole in its budget by raiding the taxpayers’ coffers.

In a statement to Parliament on Wednesday, Healey woefully admitted that ’difficult decisions are required’ from the Labour government to keep the country safe as it faces ’increasing global threats,’ including those stemming from the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts.

Acknowledging ’serious financial pressures in the defense budget,’ Healey said that the UK will now retire a total of five warships, including the amphibious assault ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, large auxiliary ships RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler, which can provide logistical support to the rest of the Navy, and the frigate HMS Northumberland.

will now retire a total of five warships, including the amphibious assault ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, large auxiliary ships RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler, which can provide logistical support to the rest of the Navy, and the frigate HMS Northumberland.

The Defense Ministry will also remove from service 14 Chino

The Defense Ministry will also remove from service 14 Chinook and 17 Puma transport helicopters, along with 46 Watchkeeper drones.

The latter will be decommissioned in March 2025, despite having only been introduced in 2010. Healey promised that the drones will be replaced by ‘a new advanced capability. ‘

According to the defense chief, the Labour government ’has taken immediate action, confirming an additional £2.9 billion ($3.65 billion) for the Defense budget in 2025-2026 to help start to fix the foundations of UK defense,’ adding that it ’will set a clear path to spending 2.5% of GDP on defense.’ Currently, the UK spends a little over 2% of GDP on the military.

Healey, meanwhile, hinted that more military assets could end up on the chopping block. ’These are not the only difficult decisions we will need to make as a new Government to deal with the fiscal inheritance,’ he said, adding that the new measures will save the UK military £150 million in the next two years, and up to £500 million over five years.

This comes after the UK National Audit Office warned last December that the military had a gaping budget hole of £16.9 billion despite a budget increase of £46.3 billion between 2023 and 2033.

Moreover, the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee said in March that the real deficit could be as high as £29 billion, as the military had excluded some government requests from the tally while limiting its budget to some of the more affordable items. You can share this story on social media:

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