- A general said allies have ‘concern’ about the army’s size should a conflict erupt
Britain’s shrinking army could struggle to face a large force such as Russia in ‘a high intensity conflict’, European generals fear.
As more soldiers are leaving the army than being recruited, troop numbers have dwindled to a historic low of just over 73,000 – its smallest size for 300 years.
A European general told The Sun that allies harbour ‘concern’ about the British Army’s size should a conflict erupt.
‘You must have mass, you must have numbers,’ they said. ‘In Ukraine you can see, we must have mass to fight the Russian army.’
Another unnamed European general said that despite commitments to boost defence spending, the British army remains ‘in decline’.
British Army soldiers from the 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team are seen during Exercise Immediate Response as part of NATO’s Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024 earlier this month
Britain’s shrinking army could struggle to face a large force such as Russia in ‘a high intensity conflict’, European generals fear
‘None of the recent announcements have moved the dial on that,’ they said.
The top brass added however that the UK’s most important defence asset to NATO is its nuclear deterrent.
‘We know we can rely on that, especially when there is an American election on the horizon and we don’t know how that could affect NATO,’ they reportedly said.
Rishi Sunak has said he will increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP and bring in national service for 18-year-olds if he wins the next election.
But, the prime minister has stood by plans to cut the army’s manpower to 73,000 by 2025 – a figure it has already nearly met after plummeting from around 102,000 in 2006.
Analysis in January suggested troop numbers could fall even further.
One former senior US general said at the time that while the UK was still seen as America’s closest ally, it was also seen as ‘having diminished capabilities over the past couple of decades’.
Rishi Sunak has said he will increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP and bring in national service for 18-year-olds if he wins the next election
They added: ‘Hence, while being the most important ally across the board, it is decidedly not what it used to be, regrettably.’
In January, Michael Clarke, the former director-general of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told MailOnline that the army must be better at driving recruitment and at least ‘get over the 100,000 mark’.
The chief of the British Army has previously warned Brits that they could be called up to fight in the event of war with Russia due to the army’s size.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff, stressed the need for ministers to ‘mobilise the nation’ in the event of a wider conflict against Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine .