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Cameron Unveils Armed Forces Cuts
BBC NEWS
October 19, 2010: Prime Minister David Cameron: "We expect to continue with the 4th largest military budget in the world." Mr. Cameron opened his Commons' statement by denying the review was simply a "cost saving exercise", saying it was a "step change in the way we protect this country's security interests". He said Britain would still meet NATO's target of spending 2% of GDP on defense and would continue to have the fourth largest military in the world and "punch above its weight in the world". But he said the country had to be "more thoughtful, more strategic and more coordinated in the way we advance our interests and protect our national security".
There would be no cuts to support for troops in Afghanistan - which is funded separately from the Treasury's special reserve, the prime minister stressed in his statement.
But he said he wanted the Ministry of Defense to become more commercially "hard headed" and said it would face "significant challenges" as a result of cuts.
He outlined savings of £4.7bn at the department including a reduction in civilian staff by 25,000 by 2015. The department will also sell off "unnecessary assets", renegotiate contracts and cut overheads.
He confirmed HMS Ark Royal will be decommissioned four years early and the UK's Harrier jump jets will be axed. Two new aircraft carriers will be built but one would be placed on "extended readiness".
Key Points:
Harrier jump jet retired
Nimrod spy plane cancelled
5,000 RAF personnel axed over five years
5,000 Navy personnel cut
7,000 army personnel cut
25,000 civilian MoD staff axed
Trident replaced but £750m savings from fewer warheads
Two aircraft carriers saved, but one will not enter service
The decision to axe the replacement Nimrod MRA4 reconnaissance planes - a project Mr Cameron said had cost more than £3bn and was more than eight years late - puts the future of RAF Kinloss, which employs 1,500 people, in doubt. The future of nearby RAF Lossiemouth remains uncertain.
Mr Cameron acknowledged there would be changes but said some RAF bases were "likely to be required by the Army, as forces return from Germany".
A "large well-equipped" Army would remain - that would amount to 95,500 personnel by 2015 - 7,000 fewer than today, Mr Cameron said.
Tanks would be cut by 40% and heavy artillery 35% - but there would be 12 more Chinooks and communications equipment and more money for unmanned planes, he said.
He also said naval manpower would fall to 30,000 by 2015 and the total number of frigates and destroyers would drop from 23 to 19 by 2020.
But he said the government would procure a fleet of hunter killer Astute class submarines, complete production of six Type 45 destroyers and start a program to develop "less expensive, more flexible, modern frigates".
Mr Cameron also vowed to push ahead with replacing Britain's Trident nuclear missile system but said their replacement would be scaled back, with the number of warheads per boat cut from 48 to 40, as part of a £750m package of savings.
