The best defence

IT does seem rather odd that Britain is slashing its defence budget at a time when UK forces are engaged in two world conflicts in Libya and Afghanistan. Dr. Liam Fox, the defence minister, is right when he says that the previous Labour administration left the Defence ministry with an enormous budget black hole. But the coalition is making the same mistake again. Britain should abandon its plan to buy British-made weapons in favour of cheaper and proven systems from abroad. For too long the Ministry of Defence has had to prop-up British defence companies who have proved to be “not fit for purpose.” Almost all the major British defence contracts are delivered over-budget and late. The cost over-runs are enormous. Britain is in the process of taking delivery of six new destroyers, which have cost one billion pounds each. They are designed in Britain. If the Royal Navy had ordered U.S. designed warships, it could have had 12 for the same price. It is the same story for a new order for helicopters for the Army and Navy. It is the job of the Ministry of Defence to make sure that British forces have the right tools for the job. The new destroyers have joined the Royal Navy six years late. This has meant that a 30 year old destroyer has been flying the flag for Britain off the coast of Libya. No one could argue that Britain has the best armed forces in the world, unfortunately it does not have the backing of the best defence companies in the world.