© Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty ImagesJunior Non-Commissioned Officers of 5th Battalion, The Rifles • Bulford, England • October 4, 2024
The UK plans to mobilize billions of pounds to bolster its military-industrial base in preparation for a potential conflict with Russia, Defense Secretary John Healey has said.
The statement comes ahead of the publication of the government's Strategic Defense Review on Monday. According to the BBC, the report is expected to portray Russia and China as major threats to the UK.
The review is expected to allocate £1.5 billion ($2 billion) toward building six new munitions factories. Over the next five years, London will dedicate around £6 billion to manufacturing long-range weapons, including Storm Shadow missiles, Healey told the BBC on Sunday. The missile, developed jointly with France, has reportedly been used by Ukraine to strike civilian targets in Russian territory, according to Moscow.
"This is a message to Moscow as well. This is Britain standing firm - not only strengthening our Armed Forces, but also reinforcing our industrial base. It's part of our readiness to fight, if required."Western support for Ukraine has exposed serious weaknesses in arms production, with British military leaders warning that weapons stockpiles are dangerously low, the BBC reported.
As one of Kiev's strongest backers in Europe, London has provided Ukraine with around €15.16 billion ($17.2 billion) in aid, more than two-thirds of which is military support, according to data from Germany's Kiel Institute.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have both advocated for placing Western troops in Ukraine. They have lobbied for a peacekeeping force to be deployed in the event of a full ceasefire.
Russia has warned that any NATO troops deployed to Ukraine - even under the designation of peacekeepers - would be treated as legitimate targets. It has also stated that foreign involvement would only escalate the conflict and ultimately fail to prevent Russia from achieving its military objectives.
Reader Comments
all I have to add is, that these warmongering cheerleaders are required to lead the charge.
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It's time the populations of the UK and France advocated for placing Starmer and Macron in Ukraine. Preferably on the front line.
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Wash-rinse-repeat.
That's my story anyway.
The strategic ones, with usually 10+ MIRVs and a reentry velocity of >Mach 20, can reach anywhere on this world.
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If military war is started, once the navy out on the sea is dispatched, then could be the mainland becomes most vulnerable - assuming we all ain’t already dead such that nobody cares. Cause run the numbers - what is the population of China?
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more than likely both sides have “special” weapons, but odds are they will not be deployable if all the satellites are incapacitated and much infrastructure in rubble. Then it will be a jungle war. I reckon “Fortress America” could easily be taken over except maybe the Appalachia area. Defense in forested hills is quite advantageous and folks around these Hearn places are well-armed and know the terrain.
[Link] - cause this sort of "terrorist" behavior is literally unacceptable - and now tis undeniable response will be sent and lets hope tis only the former state of ukraine that gets literally eliminated forever.
And how those imbeciles think to achieve is revealed in statements like this : What is "long range" about that ? Russian fighter jets have air-to-air missiles with a greater range than those, let alone Russian systems like Iskander, Khinzal, or Oreshnik.
More than half of the Lilliputian British army would be destroyed before they even leave their island. Perhaps the few returning Ukraine mercenaries can tell a story or two ...
And that's just from a war perspective - for as we can see the ways are many and they are legion.