The UK is living in 'very dangerous times', National Armaments Director says

The civil servant tasked with leading defence reforms has warned MPs of the perils the United Kingdom is facing from adversaries like Russia.

National Armaments Director Rupert Pearce told the House of Commons Defence Committee that "warfighting readiness is not where we need them to be". 

In the first public appearance since his appointment in October, Mr Pearce was pressed by the committee on how prepared the UK is to fight a war.

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He said: "We live in very, very dangerous times and we need to do more to bolster the deterrence of our Armed Forces and the ability to fight and win on the battlefield alongside our Nato allies."

The National Armaments Director is tasked with leading the NAD Group and introducing defence reforms set out in the Strategic Defence Review and Defence Industrial Strategy.

The Ministry of Defence has an "urgent plan" to begin a transformation of the capabilities of the UK's Armed Forces at pace. 

"It's not just about procuring the right equipment but making sure they [defence industries] are robust," he said. 

Despite the urgency, Mr Pearce could not tell MPs when the new Defence Investment Plan would be released.

Defence Committee chair Tan Dhesi said: "The Government doesn't seem to be able to agree on the money.

"Things are moving very, very slowly... given the threats from adversaries."

Mr Pearce replied: "We're working as fast as we can.

"We're talking about days now, not weeks or months. We're very close."

Lieutenant General Anna-Lee Reilly of Defence Equipment and Support and the Ministry of Defence's new Director General Commercial and Industry, Jim Carter, also joined the meeting.

In the two-hour introductory session, Mr Pearce and the panel faced questions about capability gaps and procurement of weapons and ammunition, plus projects such as Ajax and the Royal Navy's new frigates.

Mr Pearce responded, saying the UK needs to "fill the gaps that have emerged in our Armed Forces capabilities as a result of years of underinvestment, naturally through a peace dividend but also through emptying our warehouses" to support Ukraine.

The committee asked: "How long could the UK sustain a fight on a comparable tempo [to Ukraine] based on our current stockpiles?"

 "I'm afraid it's classified," Lt Gen Reilly replied.