What I need from Army: Chief of Defence Staff issues four bold challenges to be met
The UK's Armed Forces must be strong enough to deter conflict before it starts, the Chief of the Defence Staff has said.
Addressing the Royal United Services Institute's (Rusi) Land Warfare Conference, Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton said the priority was to build forces "that our adversaries are scared of".
He praised the progress already being made across the Army, but warned that "an army that is able to go toe to toe with Russia – like Ukraine's – is necessary, but it’s not sufficient".
To ensure the Army is prepared for future conflict, Sir Richard outlined four key challenges to be addressed.
Challenge 1: Build whole system, not just the teeth
An army is a fighting system, and every part of that system must function effectively if it is to succeed.
"It's right to start with ARRC's lethality, but SACEUR also needs to know the corps can get where he needs it to be with the stores and kit to sustain the fight," said Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Sir Rich.
"I would love, for example, to have a conversation next time I go to Andover about how we will get the corps to where it needs to be."
Challenge 2: Embrace multi-domain operations
The role the Army plays in Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) is going to be a unifying concept for Nato – as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) has made clear he wants an MDO-capable alliance by 2030.
The war in Ukraine has demonstrated with remarkable clarity the importance of integrating actions across multiple domains in order to achieve decisive effects against an adversary.
"My challenge is for us to put aside the notion that this is about giving the Army the tools to complete these missions on its own," said ACM Sir Rich.
"And instead think about how all of the components in the alliance are brought together to create decisive advantage."
Challenge 3: Adapting at wartime speed in peacetime
"My third challenge is to understand how an army in peacetime, that does not face a daily existential threat and is not spending 40%+ of GDP on defence, adapts and procures at the pace we need to keep it ahead," said the CDS.
While we rightly admire the extraordinary agility of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, this innovation has been driven by necessity as part of their daily fight for national survival.
Sir Rich asks: "How do we replicate that in a world when we are not in a daily fight for national survival? How do we build that muscle in peacetime so that we are ready for wartime?"
He added: "This is not a problem just for the British Army, it applies to the whole defence ecosystem, but I think the Army, with its modernised fighting system and sharp minds, can lead the way."
Challenge 4: Bold enough to change
Finally, we need "to ask ourselves whether we have been bold enough", said Sir Rich.
"It is interesting to observe that Ukraine's unmanned systems force – that is so critical to the Ukrainian Armed Forces success – did not exist before the war started and is made up almost entirely of people new to the Army.
"So we should keep asking ourselves whether our commitment to our structures, our history, even our doctrine are holding us back."
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