British Army: Former military leaders from Northern Ireland affirm US view that cutbacks have seriously impacted army in light of Ukraine war

A US General has reportedly told UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace that cutbacks in the UK's war-fighting capability needs to be reversed faster than planned in the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine because the British Army is no longer a top-level fighting force, Sky News Reported.

Retired NATO intelligence Col Philip Ingram, who is from Co Tyrone, said the assessments were "accurate to a point".

He added: "The UK is the only nation that can still field an Armoured Heavy formation alongside the Americans on Operations however continued salami slicing of military capability, especially in the Army, has weakened the British Army’s capability to the point where it is becoming ineffective in a high intensity conflict scenario."

Some of that is down to a lack of money but much of it is down to "the Army’s own poor decisions" he added.

The RAF and Royal Navy can easily convince any Secretary of State that they have a greater role in projecting power internationally and benefit from "huge investment" as a result, he added.

UUP MLA and former Royal Navy Submarine commander Steve Aiken broadly concurred.

"The United Kingdom’s Armed Forces are in many ways, world class, and in some cases world leading," he said. "However, since the end of the cold war, and especially since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, our Defence has never been properly invested in."

Capabilities, such as the Submarine Service, Special Forces, strategic lift and intelligence gathering are second only to the US, he said, but "we do not have capacity in depth" and the "reduced Army" and small Royal Naval Frigate and Destroyer numbers mean the UK is now "less than one brick thick in our defensive wall".

The chairman of the Defence Select Committee, Tobias Ellwood, said today that the Government should reverse “swathing cuts” to the army because its equipment has become “obsolete” and we are at “war in Europe”.

The MoD was also invited to comment.

A government spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister is clear that we have to do everything necessary to protect our people, which is why the UK has the largest defence budget in Europe and we made the biggest investment in the UK defence industry since the Cold War in 2020.

"We are ensuring our Armed Forces have the equipment and capability they need to meet the threats of tomorrow, including through a fully-funded £242 billion 10-year equipment plan.”