Deputy defence chief admits concerns about Armed Forces' ability to sustain the fight

A senior defence official has told the Defence Select Committee he is concerned about the Armed Forces' overall readiness and its ability to sustain the fight.

Lieutenant General Sir Robert Magowan, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, said there were areas of operational risk that were "uncomfortable".

Lt Gen Sir Rob, a former Commandant General Royal Marines, was addressing Defence Committee members who were questioning the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24.

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Last month, Defence Secretary John Healey announced £500m of savings by scrapping old military equipment early.

Among the kit being decommissioned were ships, drones and helicopters.

Lt Gen Sir Rob, in response to being questioned by the committee on the possible short-term capability gaps this would leave, said he believed they were "manageable".

But he added: "We are concerned about our overall readiness, we are concerned about our ability to sustain the fight.

"From a military capability perspective... that is why we are impressing upon the secretary of state and he's absolutely responding, rightly so.

"He's driving it, he's leading it himself, understandably so, to make sure we've got more sustainment, particularly in terms of munitions, but also some of those enabling capabilities to enable us to fight."

During the meeting, there was also a discussion about deterrence.

Lt Gen Sir Rob was asked whether he thought the Chief of the General Staff's ambition to double the lethality of the Army within three years was achievable.

"That's his aspiration, that's our aspiration, that's the Defence Secretary's aspiration," he said.

In June, during his first public statement since taking up the position as head of the British Army, General Sir Roly Walker stressed the need to strengthen the Armed Forces' warfighting capabilities in the face of real-world threats.

Lt Gen Sir Rob added: "If we are going to deter as an alliance, whether we deter as a nation as part of that alliance, we've got to demonstrate that we've got the lethality and resilience to stay in the fight."

He said the Ministry of Defence was doing what it could to educate people generally on the nature of the threat to the UK.