Rebuild the Royal Navy or lose a war to Russia, first sea lord tells politicians
Britain must become the naval superpower it once was to counter the threat of the Russian fleet, the Royal Navy chief has said.
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General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said that the UK needs to build more traditional warships and new drones to protect the Atlantic from the threat of Putin.
In a speech on Wednesday, the First Sea Lord said the country must “strengthen our warfighting readiness” and “rediscover what it means to be a maritime nation”.
The Royal Navy is currently at its smallest size in living memory.
Russia is understood to be targeting undersea cables serving the UK, and recent weeks have seen Argentina once again reiterate its claim to the Falkland Islands.
Speaking at a private event in Admiralty House, Whitehall, Gen Sir Gwyn said: “The greatest threat to our security today is Russia.
“Russia retains advanced submarines that are increasingly difficult to track, long-range precision weapons, and specialist systems designed to operate deep underwater.”
Despite hiring John Healey as chancellor after he quit as defence secretary over the perceived inadequacy of the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) announced earlier this year, Andy Burnham has not committed to spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030.
He added: “Russia is probing, testing and mapping. It seeks advantage in the grey zone, particularly around the critical undersea infrastructure on which modern societies rely.
“And among Ukraine’s Western allies, Russia considers us to be one of its greatest foes. We know that Russia is probing us for weakness. And we are facing threats in a way we have not been since the Cold War.”
He said: “Churchill attached such significance to the Atlantic because he understood something important. The sea is not peripheral to Britain – it is existential.
“Sea power not only sustained us during the war. It arguably saved us. Lose the war at sea and you lose the war. That was the warning of Admiral Pound, the first sea lord of the day, and it remains true now.
“If we are to prevail in the Atlantic again, we must strengthen our warfighting readiness and rediscover what it means to be a maritime nation.”