Britain's underfunded army is letting down Nato

The British army is overstretched. This is not breaking news to anyone who takes an interest in defence. Although its budget has grown in real terms over the last decade, it has faced a complex network of problems. In only six of the last 25 years has recruitment exceeded outflow, meaning that the army has been consistently under strength. Meanwhile, two of its three armoured vehicles, Ajax and Boxer, are badly behind schedule. Consequently, the new ‘Future Soldier’ reforms have been disrupted, and the gifting of equipment and ammunition to Ukraine has severely depleted stockpiles.

The flair for improvisation shown by good soldiers has done much to conceal the worst of these weaknesses, but something had to give. This week it was reported in the Times that the army has reduced the number of personnel deployed to Operation Cabrit, the UK’s contribution to Nato’s Forward Land Forces. The alliance has eight multinational battlegroups based in eastern Europe; in Estonia, Britain is the so-called ‘framework nation’ for the battlegroup.