As the Ministry of Defence works out how best to spend its extra billions, US government officials are warning behind the scenes that the UK should move away from buying American equipment.
Munitions, new technology, such as uncrewed systems, and fostering a closer relationship between defence and society are among the top priorities for ministers, The Times understands.
A British defence figure, who is not part of the government, was told privately by US officials that it should “recalibrate” its reliance on US equipment. This was after suggestions were allegedly raised within the Trump administration that the UK was getting equipment too cheaply, a British defence figure privy to the discussion said.
Recounting the conversation in recent weeks, the source said: “They said we shouldn’t be buying US equipment and there was a feeling in the US administration that they should be sending the UK a bill because they have got defence equipment cheaply.”
The source added: “Some think the UK got an unfairly cheap deal with Trident.”
American officials said that the UK and others should not assume they can ride out a Trump presidency because JD Vance, the vice-president, could succeed him.
“We have been trying to tell people to recalibrate. The old certainties are gone,” the officials told the defence expert, who is not a member of the UK government.
They said that a US administration could put restrictions on kit from the US and that if countries are “deemed not to be doing what you are told you will suddenly find out missiles won’t fire and planes won’t fly. You have got to be careful.”
The source said: “This is the transactional side of Trump.”
Details of the conversation emerged as ministers, defence chiefs and experts work out the priorities for the MoD before the publication of the strategic defence review.
On Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, took many in the MoD by surprise as he announced it would be given more than £6 billion extra a year to ensure the UK is spending 2.5 per cent of its GDP on defence by 2027 — three years earlier than expected. The money is being taken from the aid budget.
Much of it could be used to plug a deficit in the budget for new equipment, however some will be used to modernise and reform the armed forces, which has suffered decades of devastating cuts.
One defence insider emphasised the critical need for the UK to build up its ammunition stockpile using any extra funds, saying : “Ukraine shows the importance of resilience in depth to sustain a prolonged conflict.”
In December 2022, a study of the Ukraine war by the Royal United Services Institute found that Britain’s ammunition stockpiles were “woefully deficient”. It concluded that the army’s ammunition would last for only a week of war.
The MoD said: “The strategic defence review will explain how we’ll use the new funding to invest in modern capabilities, keeping us secure at home and strong abroad.”
A statement issued on Wednesday by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, a former defence secretary, General Sir Richard Barrons, a former commander of joint forces command, and Dr Fiona Hill, an expert on Russia, who are working on the strategic defence review, said it was a “huge opportunity to transform our armed forces for this new era so that we can make Britain secure at home and strong abroad”.
They said the review would put Nato first and focus on “strengthening our alliances and partnerships, while making defence central both to the security and to the economic growth and prosperity of the United Kingdom”. The uplift to the defence budget was a “critical step in realising that ambition”, they said.
Ammunition
One former senior defence source said that the problems with ammunition were “severe”.
All of Britain’s AS90 155mm self-propelled howitzers were handed over to the Ukrainians and although the army has since procured 24 Archer artillery systems from Sweden, this was a temporary solution.
Under current plans, the army will get the German RCH 155mm artillery system in 2032 as a long-term replacement, but General Sir Roly Walker, the chief of the general staff, believes this should happen sooner if funds are available.
Drones
An army source said that an injection of funds was required so money could be spent on cheap and expendable drones to enable the army to increase its readiness to “fight soon” using “quick, transformative technology”.
The source said that the ideal scenario was more money to experiment with UK defence companies creating novel sovereign capabilities. Using British firms would mean that “we can’t have it taken away from us as, for example, if it were American”, indicating that a shift away from US kit was already happening.
Personnel
For Walker, the priority is about making the army more lethal, rather than having more personnel, despite the size of the army being expected to drop below 70,000 this year.
There also needs to be a greater focus on reserve forces and cadets, said one senior government source, which would help “foster a closer relationship between defence and society”.
More money could be spent on attracting reservists to sign up to the armed forces so the government could draw upon a greater pool of people to fight if necessary.
The army source said “we need reserve bases” across the country so reservists with busy day jobs do not have to travel far to carry out training. “That will keep the number up. If you have to travel 50 miles you can’t balance that with life.”
In a speech on army reserves at the armed forces covenant dinner at Mansion House on Wednesday, Alastair King, the lord mayor of London, will urge businesses to bolster support for reservists and make it easier for their employees to serve as volunteer instructors for cadet units to tackle a shortage across the country.
King will say it is “clear that stronger reserve forces will be an essential element of our future capabilities”.
“My plea to City businesses is threefold. If you’ve not yet done so, sign the armed forces covenant as a matter of urgency. Grant your teams time to serve as instructors with cadet units. And for those of you lucky enough to have reservists in your business, do whatever you can to allow them to stay serving,” he will say.
The veterans minister Alistair Carns, also speaking at Mansion House, will say: “As we face an increasingly complex and unpredictable world, the partnership between defence and employers has never been more important.”
Hardware
The Royal Navy wants to spend more money on uncrewed capabilities and more ships with state-of-the-art technology to defeat emerging threats. The Royal Air Force is focused on buying more F-35s, of which there are currently only 32, and ensuring its new combat aircraft, Tempest, secures future funding.
