Army battle over plan to axe tanks
EX-ARMY bosses and influential MPs went into battle yesterday to save Britain’s tanks.
It followed revelations that all of the UK’s 227 Challenger tanks and 388 Warrior armoured fighting vehicles could be mothballed under a major review of the defence budget.
Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons’ Defence Select Committee, said: “The backbone to Britain’s international credibility is our hard power.
“We can’t speak of global Britain on the one hand then reduce our ability to shape global events with the other.”
Officials are currently carrying out an Integrated Review into Britain’s foreign policy goals and defence objectives and resources.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said Britain must invest in cyber warfare, space and sub-sea technology as part of Nato alliance commitments.
But this could see military chiefs scrap tanks amid expected budget cuts due to the coronavirus crisis.
The UK’s fleet of 227 tanks is already behind Argentina, who have 231, Germany, with 236, and Uganda with 239. Russia has the most tanks, with 12,950, followed by the United States on 6,333, China on 5,800 and India with 4,665.
Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded British forces in Afghanistan, said: “China is equipping world armies withVT-4 main battle tanks.
“Tanks will one day be superseded by unmanned vehicles but that day is not here yet.
“Armour can’t be replaced by drones, cyber attacks and special forces, even if they are cheaper.”
The cost of maintaining and upgrading our ageing tanks may be a key issue. Former defence secretary Penny
Mordaunt said: “Challenger 2 has been in service without a major upgrade since 1998.
During this time the US, Germany and Denmark have completed two major upgrades, whilst Russia has fielded five new variants with a sixth pending.
“Warrior is even more obsolete, and is 20 years older than those operated by our key allies.
“Since Warrior’s introduction in 1988 the United States and Germany have conducted four major upgrades and Russia has invested in three new variants.”