Lord Dannett's take on itis interesting.
SDSR: Lord Dannatt's reaction
The Former Chief of the General Staff salutes "an honest attempted to rectify a past error"
I generally welcome what the Government has done. I think the commitment to two additional squadrons of Typhoon and F35 vertical take off fighter jets recognises the medium- to long-term pressure that the RAF is under. That on top of the The Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft will significantly boost not only our capability at sea but also our [submarine borne] nuclear deterrent.
As for Land Forces, I particularly welcome the introduction of two new strike brigades, along with kit and vehicles. The only sad thing is that we could have had these 10 years ago. But the additional cash then went into the aircraft carrier programme. The problem is that the decision to go for the carrier – whose cost has now doubled from £3.5bn to £6bn – has run the risk of creating the wrong type of Navy, with the wrong type of craft.
This is an island nation with a history of needing to protect trading routes all over the world. What we have had is a situation where we were equipped with very advanced warships, but only a few of them. So as far as the Navy is concerned, the decision to go down from 13 to 8 Type 26 frigates is a realisation of the very high cost of these particular advanced craft. To patrol the Indian Ocean or the coast off West Africa you need something relatively cheap and cheerful – and more of them.
When it comes to cyber warfare, the important thing is that we are always trying to adapt. For the rank and file, cyber will matter less – the really important thing is that our intelligence and surveillance capabilities are up there with the best.
But there will be costs. We will see a reduction in the civil service and backroom staff. And what hasn’t been discussed today are the terms of service – particularly for those in the Army. The concern is that those people serving won’t have the same security they have had in the past, such as incremental pay rises which have been part and parcel of service. One waits and wonders and hopes that terms of service, when they are announced, possibly on Wednesday as part of the spending review, prove an incentive not a barrier to recruitment.
The world looked very different at the time of the last spending review in 2010. Frankly, we hoped then that the world would become more secure – and that has turned out not to be the case. Today’s SDSR is an honest attempt to rectify that error.