Under a curtain of wintry rain last Friday, the Army put on a bravura performance of the lessons and tricks it has picked up from 18 months of war in Ukraine. Their spirit of make-over and make-do seemed to owe more to the spirit of Jay Blades and The Repair Shop than great reformers in uniform such as Montgomery or Wellington. “We have learned to get old weapons to work in a new way with the addition of small bits of brilliant technology,” said the Army’s genial boss General Sir Patrick Sanders.
On cue, a lone sniper shot out of the woods on a high-powered e-bike and hoisted a CarlGustav anti-tank rocket launcher, smacking the turret of a marauding Russian T-72 tank, conveniently borrowed from the Tank Museum at Bovington for the occasion.
Another sniper levelled his high-powered rifle, guided by a SMASH electronic sight, at a drone. “It’s a miniaturised version of the fire control of a Challenger 2 tank,” explained Sanders. “I shot down a drone with one shot the other day — first time,” glowed the general.
We have learned to get old weapons to work in a new way with the addition of small bits of brilliant technology
New satellite guidance and digital input from a host of sources have given pinpoint accuracy to old artillery systems in Ukraine, like the 105mm light gun — once again being used in the close battle. Both the 105 and the Carl Gustav launcher were used successfully in the Falklands 41 years ago, and now have an even more potent new lease of life.
The lessons of the Ukraine war provide the main thrust for the Defence Command Paper Refresh, the defining statement for the forces and the defence of the nation, out today. There is no more money, apart from £2.5 billion already pledged to top up ammunition stocks depleted by shipments to Ukraine. But the forces are to be agile and adaptable. Welfare and conditions are addressed with £400 million for housing improvement — this comes on top of a surprisingly generous 9.7 per cent pay increase for junior ranks.
The tone of the paper is different from its predecessor, the Defence Command Paper of 2021. The focus now is being ready for war, alongside allies, and uniting industry, scientific research and academics in the new tactics and techniques involving phenomena as diverse as 3D printing, cyber, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics.
Dr Rob Johnson, the author of the policy paper, warns “we have to be ready for war now.” He also stresses that the conflict in Ukraine is more than a land battle. Freedom of navigation of the seas, the Black Sea and Baltic especially, air space and space are areas of competition, contest and conflict.
The head of the services, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, warns that “Ukraine is likely to be a slog” and the current offensive battles “a real grind”. The battle is evenly balanced, but Ukraine has the edge, he suggests, in tactical and technical innovation — and in self-belief.
In the Dorset downpour at Lulworth last week, the men and women of all four armed forces appeared keen to meet the challenge of the new realities of war and peace in our time. As The Repair Shop drill sergeant Blades might say, they were “well made up”.
Robert Fox is defence editor
