50 billion pounds to modernize its army, support Ukraine and confront Russia... the largest British military expenditure since World War II

London -

Although Britain went through an economic crisis that forced it to reduce its government expenditures, this was not reflected in the defense budget, which will witness a new increase during the current year, thus becoming the highest military expenditure in Europe.

Defense Minister Ben Wallace and Chief of Staff Admiral Tony Radakin succeeded in convincing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the necessity of excluding the defense budget from any reduction, but rather granting it additional financial resources.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced an increase in the defense budget by about 1.4 billion pounds, from 48.6 billion pounds to 50 billion pounds during the 2023-2024 financial year.

The Treasury Secretary justified this increase by the need for the military spending budget to keep pace with the inflation rate, which amounted to 10%. This is a diplomatic justification that hides the truth revealed by the Chief of Staff by saying that his country needs a huge defense budget to continue supporting Ukraine and modernizing the British army in the face of what he called the "Russian threat." .

With this increase in military spending, Britain will have the second largest defense budget within NATO, after the United States.

It will keep its pledge to allocate 2% of its gross domestic product (the country's wealth in a year) to defense, and Britain is currently witnessing the largest increase in its military spending since World War II.

Part of this budget will be allocated to support Ukraine with about 2.3 billion pounds sterling in 2023, after the British army announced the completion of training 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers who are ready to return to the battlefields.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced an increase in the British defense budget by about 1.4 billion pounds (Reuters)

Nuclear and more weapons

Through research in the documents of the British Ministry of Defense and the statements of the British Chief of Staff, it appears that the increase in the army budget will mainly go to more armaments and the development of the country's military and air force, as well as strengthening its nuclear arsenal.

According to the data of the British Army, 9 new Boeing P-8A Poseidon air bombers were acquired, which is an aircraft for naval missions and missile strikes against warships and submarines, in addition to the acquisition of new air carriers for soldiers. Airbus A400M to replace the aging C130 troop carriers.

And the British Army Command announced that it will soon receive the Boeing E7 spy and surveillance aircraft, which are new-generation aircraft that provide the ability to monitor airspace and transfer all air and sea targets to the control center.

The radar of these aircraft can detect 1,000 flying objects at the same time, and enemy aircraft from 500 km away. It can also detect targets at sea.

It is expected that the British army will receive a new batch of Ajax combat armored vehicles, which is one of the most modern armored vehicles currently in the world, in addition to investing in the manufacture of fourth-generation Challenger 3 tanks, as well as the new generation. Apache helicopters.

As for the naval forces, the army announced the signing of a new agreement to acquire 26 new frigates to strengthen the naval fleet and support the long-range naval missile arsenal, in addition to the acquisition of warships specialized in surveillance and espionage, the purpose of which is to enhance the protection of nuclear submarines.

The largest investment for the British army remains nuclear submarines, as the Chief of Staff announced that his country will seek to increase the number of nuclear submarines during the next ten years, and this is due to the increasing intensity of competition between the West on the one hand, and China and Russia on the other hand in the Pacific Ocean.

The British Army has also invested heavily in the development of unmanned aircraft, with the aim of reaching 10,000 aircraft of this type in 2030.

In response to the criticism leveled by some for raising military spending at a time when the economy and the British citizen are suffering from an unprecedented crisis, the British army published data on the army's contribution to the country's economy.

The British army, through its activity in the manufacture of weapons, provides 320 billion pounds sterling to the gross domestic product, and provides about 6.6 billion pounds for scientific research and development. It is also the second largest exporter of weapons in the world after the United States, and provides 41 thousand jobs.

British Army Chief of Staff Tony Radakin said that the United States' shift towards Asia and the Pacific is pushing European countries to raise their military budget (Reuters)

Russian danger

During his annual speech to the Royal United Services Institute - a British military research institute -, Chief of Staff Admiral Tony Radakin revealed the British army's vision of the dangers threatening his country.

The military commander said that Russia is the greatest threat to British security, while he considered that China does not pose the same threat despite its alliance, which he described as "tactical" with Russia, indicating that Beijing is strengthening its arsenal of aircraft, warships and nuclear arsenal, "trying to exploit the state of global preoccupation with war." Russian in Ukraine.

The British army commander explained that the United States' shift towards Asia and the Pacific will push European countries to raise their military budgets by about $300 billion over the next ten years in order to secure the old continent, and Britain will have to be at the forefront of European countries in terms of military spending.