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'Positive Policy' - Defence: Part 4 of 4 - Conclusion
Posted by Matthew Taylor (@MTPT)
Friday, 5th March 2010
We need armed forces which are capable of performing a variety of missions, and we need to be able to deploy them in a broader range of capabilities. Other policies which I have not focused on are also important. In particular, increases to the RAF's airlift capability (already underway) must continue, and we must procure new aircraft carriers to replace the Invincible class ships which are now being retired. Neither of these are new lessons: the need for the former was demonstrated in the Falklands War, while the need for the latter was proven by the Belize crisis in 1972. Yet both lessons have had to be relearned, as the lack of helicopters in Afghanistan, and the resurrection of Royal Navy aircraft carriers after the Falklands, demonstrate.
The three headline policies I've set out - increasing the size of the armed forces and the reserves; switching to UAVs and UCAVs; and cancelling the Trident replacement - are intended to provoke discussion. I believe, however, that all should be adopted as part of a drive to reshape the UKs armed forces for the 21st Century.
