Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson argued in 2021 that “the old concepts of fighting big tank battles on European land mass are over,” saying “there are other, better things we should be investing in … in the future combat air system, in cyber — this is how warfare in the future is going to be.”
It’s a line that aged fast. Russia invaded Ukraine just a few months later, in what has become a protracted land battle. It was, however, in line with a long-held consensus across the West.
H.R. McMaster, Trump’s former national security adviser, told a London event on Monday that “none of our armies are big enough” and that “the U.S. Marine Corps is bigger than the British army.”
“We can tell ourselves lies about that, because we have this really nifty kit, and more FPV [First-Person View] drones or something,” he said. “But actually, the [victory] often goes to the side with the bigger battalions.”
With the very real prospect of British troops now being deployed overseas, even in a peacekeeping capacity, the British government appears aware of the need to urgently boost troop numbers.
Starmer is expected soon to announce a big uptick in defense spending on an accelerated timetable — even as the Treasury pushes government departments across the board to find savings.
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