It seems quite likely that in June at the next Nato summit in The Hague, President Trump will say something like: “The US is paying for Europe’s protection. All Nato nations must spend 3 per cent of GDP on Defence immediately.”
He said something similar at the 2018 summit, and although it was only 2 per cent then, it caused a ruckus. Every British government since 1990 has wished defence spending would just go away. Can Trump shift that mindset this time around? Or what if our government concludes that we should spend more anyway, what with it being a dangerous world out there these days? What would the Royal Navy do with more cash?
The first point to note is that there is little that can be done quickly. Decades of rot cannot be turned around overnight, even with unlimited cash. And before we even get to the Navy, Treasury reforms are needed. Annualised budgets, the inability to plan beyond them and the requirement to find in-year savings are a curse much wider than Defence.
But let’s say that happened and serious money started to head the Navy’s way. I think there are three broad areas that need reform: sustainability, shipbuilding and lethality.
Sustainability is a vast subject and not sexy at all, but like Treasury reforms, if you don’t get it right, nothing else follows. It also includes elements that have naval implications without being the Navy’s to control.
Culture is key. Getting people used to spending money again and being ambitious would take time. Learned behaviours such as jealously protecting your project against the one from next door, or the neighbouring Service, would take time to undo. So would decoupling parsimony from promotability.
It seems quite likely that in June at the next Nato summit in The Hague, President Trump will say something like: “The US is paying for Europe’s protection. All Nato nations must spend 3 per cent of GDP on Defence immediately.”
He said something similar at the 2018 summit, and although it was only 2 per cent then, it caused a ruckus. Every British government since 1990 has wished defence spending would just go away. Can Trump shift that mindset this time around? Or what if our government concludes that we should spend more anyway, what with it being a dangerous world out there these days? What would the Royal Navy do with more cash?
The first point to note is that there is little that can be done quickly. Decades of rot cannot be turned around overnight, even with unlimited cash. And before we even get to the Navy, Treasury reforms are needed. Annualised budgets, the inability to plan beyond them and the requirement to find in-year savings are a curse much wider than Defence.
But let’s say that happened and serious money started to head the Navy’s way. I think there are three broad areas that need reform: sustainability, shipbuilding and lethality.
Sustainability is a vast subject and not sexy at all, but like Treasury reforms, if you don’t get it right, nothing else follows. It also includes elements that have naval implications without being the Navy’s to control.
Culture is key. Getting people used to spending money again and being ambitious would take time. Learned behaviours such as jealously protecting your project against the one from next door, or the neighbouring Service, would take time to undo. So would decoupling parsimony from promotability.