A leaked document paints a worrying picture of the Royal Navy's capabilities. The allegation is that Treasury pressure to cut costs is so great that the Navy doesn't have enough pilots or ammunition to be an effective part of NATO's Rapid Reaction Force. Defence Reporter Andrew Gilligan investigates.
It is one of the most worrying recent assessments of the Royal Navy that I have seen because it has been written by either the Commander in Chief of the Fleet himself, or people very close to him.
What it says is essentially simple. The Royal Navy is in danger of losing some of its ability to fight through what the document calls "significant" shortfalls of money, munitions and men.
One of the most serious shortages is in of Sea Harrier jump-jet pilots. The document states: "Pilot numbers are well below requirement with resignations rising critically ... The ability to man the second carrier air group is under threat."
This essentially means the navy might not have any aircraft to put on one of its aircraft carriers.
There is also concern over weaponry. The document says shortages of ammunition mean that the Navy may in some cases be unable to fulfil its commitment to Britain's defence and to Nato.
"Significant armoury shortfalls mean that combat requirements are not being met for a number of munitions. Joint Rapid Reaction Force profiles are not being met because ships are not always fully fit for task", the paper argues.
The Joint Rapid Reaction Force is in practice Britain's premier military action force. It gets sent into action early on in any crisis, and it is very serious if it is being suggested that the Navy cannot meet its commitments to the force.
The backdrop to all this is the budget problems all three services are experiencing, alluded to in the document when it states: "Achieving a balanced programme against a background of reducing expenditure limits poses a risk to this TLB [top level budgetholder - ie. Commander in Chief, Fleet]. Outputs may need to be cut to achieve financial balance." That means that still further problems are possible because of continuing pressure on the defence budget.
The budget has actually been increased slightly in the last year, but the problem is that the demands on all the services have been increasing much faster. Seldom a year goes by now without their being involved in one sort of major operation or another.
There has clearly been an element of special pleading here, but it is not actually a plea to ministers for more cash, it is just a bald and factual statement of the problems.
The following are further extracts from the document. I have added my own explanatory notes in the square brackets.
"There are serious limitations in current capability....Merlin's inability to night dip places severe constraint on active ASW capability" [Merlin is the Navy's new 拢57 million anti-submarine helicopter, equipped with sonar to search beneath the sea for enemy submarines].
"There is a potential 拢40-50 million Health & Safety problem [unspecified] in the NCC [Northwood Command Centre, where all wars and military operations are run from]. Various options are being studied but as yet nobody has identified where the funds for any solution would be found..."
"In the Surface Flotilla [all non-submarines in the Navy] gapping [personnel shortage leading to posts being left unfilled] ... is having a very serious impact on the ability of many ships to sustain their readiness and operational capability through a protracted or high intensity operation" [ie. the ability to fight a long war].
"Significant armoury shortfalls mean that combat requirements are not being met for a number of munitions and ships are conducting peacetime operations at Contingent Readiness without their full outload. Joint Rapid Reaction Force profiles are not being met because ships are not always fully fit for task."
"Fleet Type Commanders have identified the following areas that taken singly or as a package pose a risk:
- Anti-Air Warfare: The gap between the emerging threat, particularly from proliferating anti-ship missiles, and the Fleet's ability to defend itself, is increasing.
- Support of Ammunition to Live Firing: A significant proportion of live fire munitions lack safety clearance unless ministerial disposition is granted for operations. This produces a severe impact on training and,
due to an inability to train effectively, on operational readiness.
- DERA Trials: [Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, which tests new weapons and ships for the Navy on its various ranges] Core funding in short term programme 2001 does not meet the trials requirements for Financial Years 2001/02 and 2002/03. This will result in a reduction in operational capability and warfighting ability."
