November 20, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
By: Andrew Chuter
LONDON — The British government has approved the largest rise in its defense budget since the end of the Cold War, with £16.5 billion (U.S. $21.9 billion) in additional funding made available for spending on shipbuilding, space, cyber, research and other sectors over a four-year period.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the increase could transform the military and bring to an end an era of retreat in the armed forces.
“For decades, U.K. government has pared and trimmed our defense budget. If we go on like this, we risk waking up to discover our armed forces have fallen below the minimum threshold of viability. I have refused to pick up the scalpel yet again. I've decided the era of cutting must end, and end now,” the prime minister told Parliament in a statement.
The retreat to which Johnson referred is made up of capability cuts, program delays and cancellations, reductions in research and development, and slashed personnel numbers amid defense budgets that have regularly failed to match ambitions.
Winners and losers
Among the efforts likely to benefit from the commitment of new money are the Tempest future combat air program; a number of shipbuilding projects, including a fleet of logistics ships; and various space and cyberspace assets. Specifically, the spending commitment will finance the country's order of eight Type 26 and five Type 31 frigates, which are under construction in Scotland, where the U.K. government faces renewed calls for independence.
Johnson said he is also committed to the embryonic Type 32 next-generation frigate and the building of a multipurpose research ship.
Also included in Britain's transformation plans are the creation of a Space Command capable of launching a rocket from a site in Scotland by 2022 as well as a new agency focused on artificial intelligence.
But Johnson also warned some programs would not receive equal attention.
“We will need to act speedily to remove or reduce less relevant capabilities — and this will allow our new investment to be focused on the technologies that will revolutionize warfare,” he said.
Johnson gave no clues to where the ax might fall, but new armored vehicle programs, of which the British Army have several currently running, are often cited by analysts as a potential target for cuts.
“Now is the right time to press ahead because emerging technology on the horizon will make the returns from defense investment infinitely greater,” he told Parliament. “We have a chance to break free from the vicious circle where we ordered ever deceasing numbers of evermore expensive pieces of military hardware, squandering billions of pounds along the way.”
The government said military modernization will be underpinned by a record investment of at least £1.5 billion extra and £5.8 billion in total on military research and development, including a commitment to further invest in the future combat air system.
“This reverses the systematic decline in this crucial area in the last 30 years,” according to the Prime Minister's Office.
What's been the reaction?
Commitment to the major hike in extra spending came after the Treasury gave in to pressure from Johnson to provide extra funding for the armed forces over a four-year period rather than accept the chancellor's preference for a one-year funding settlement.
The announcement is being termed as the first phase of an integrated defense review being conducted to coordinate defense, security, foreign and development policies. The review was expected to already be published, but with plans in flux and the new factor of additional cash, a more detailed review will not likely be public until next year.
The Royal United Services Institute think tank in London said that over the next four years, the “additional cash represents a real-term increase of between 10 percent and 15 percent in the defense budget: equivalent to some £4 billion more annually than had been promised.”
RUSI also noted the announcement, “provided little clarity on the foreign policy ambition, and it appears likely that we will have to wait until the new year for the full integrated review to be revealed. In the meantime, the [Ministry of Defence] will be under considerable pressure to ensure that its ambitions do not again outrun its (now significantly enhanced) means.”
Analysts here say that despite the new spending commitment, the MoD will still have to cut a number of programs to balance it's books.
The National Audit Office, the government's financial watchdog, has repeatedly warned the 10-year equipment plan is unaffordable, saying it could be too costly by as much as £13 billion. The current annual defense budget is about £40 billion. The new spending pledge will see the defense budget account for 2.2 percent of gross domestic product, meeting NATO guidelines.
Johnson, who is currently self-isolating, having recently come into contact with a lawmaker who has subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, said he had taken the decision to raise spending in the teeth of the pandemic because the “defense of the realm must come first.”
“The international situation is more perilous and more intensely competitive than at any time since the Cold War, and Britain must be true to our history and stand alongside our allies,” he said.
A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said the increase will cement the U.K.'s position as the largest defense spender in Europe and the second largest in NATO, after the U.S. The announcement drew an immediate and welcoming response from acting U.S. Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.
“The [Department of Defense] applauds the announcement by the U.K. to significantly increase defense spending. The U.K. is our most stalwart and capable ally, and this increase in spending is indicative of their commitment to NATO and our shared security,” he said. “With this increase, the U.K. military will continue to be one of the finest fighting forces in the world. Their commitment to increased defense funding should be a message to all free nations that the most capable among us can — and must — do more to counter emerging threats to our shared freedoms and security.”
The move was also welcomed locally by ADS, a major industry lobby group. “This investment will boost our national security, help the U.K. address new and rapidly evolving threats by developing innovative world-class equipment, and support our economic recovery. The commitment to key projects will embed high-value design and manufacturing skills in all regions and nations of the U.K. for decades to come,” said Paul Everitt, the ADS chief executive.
But Everitt also said the money must be quickly spent with the U.K.'s prosperity a priority.
“It is important that the procurement regime delivers quickly and in a manner that prioritizes U.K. industrial impact, aiding planning and clarity and helping to build back better,” he said.
The £16.5 billion in extra spending is over and above the government's pledge to increase defense spending by 0.5 percent above inflation for every year of the four years remaining of the existing Parliament. The government said that on existing forecasts, this is an overall cash increase of £24.1 billion over four years. Johnson told Parliament that would represent spending of £190 billion over the next four years.
But how will the government's massive spending in the fight against COVID-19 impact these spending plans? Media and analysts here reckon Britain's huge overseas development budget is likely to take a hit to make these new efforts a reality.
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April 9, 2020 | International, Land
President Trump has authorized only 34 states to receive federal funding and benefits for their Guard troops. While all of them get paid -- many out of rapidly depleting state coffers -- most aren't yet getting full health coverage. By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR WASHINGTON: Legal arcana and the narrow wording of President Trump's orders are complicating the mobilization of National Guard troops to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus. The Pentagon, the White House, and the states are working urgently to increase the number of troops with federal funding and full benefits, said Gen. Joseph Lengyel, the four-star chief of the National Guard Bureau, in a phone briefing with reporters this afternoon. Part of the problem is that President Trump has not actually authorized federal funding and benefits for every state. Only 34 states and three territories are currently covered by his call-up orders, with 16 states and the District of Columbia still ineligible. (The full list is at the end of this article). Indeed, it's not clear that all states have even requested federal support for their Guard troops, especially in rural areas where the spread of the virus has been slower and suspicion of the federal government can be high. Even once the president authorizes a given state, FEMA must still approve each request for funding. Finally, until yesterday, President Trump's orders only permitted Guard troops to operate under federal orders for up to 30 days – one day too short to qualify for federal health coverage and other benefits. So how many servicemembers are affected? 28,400 personnel from both the Army and Air National Guard have been called up to help with the pandemic, Lengyel reported, a figure that's now rising by more than 1,000 troops every day. However, more than 13,000 of those troops are currently mobilized under state legal authorities, at their states' expense. While their pay in this status is usually consistent with federal payscales — some states are less generous – their benefits are typically limited to basic workers' compensation. Worse, whatever they get may not be sustainable since state coffers are being rapidly depleted by the crisis. Not quite 11,000 are currently mobilized under Title 32, Section 502(f), which allows state governors to retain command-and-control of their Guard in local emergencies but provides federal funding – a number that is “growing rapidly,” Lengyel said. But even among Guard troops on those federal Title 32 orders, it appears that most don't yet enjoy the same benefits as members of the regular active-duty military and reserve working alongside them. In particular, most Guard troops aren't getting the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), which helps troops on duty far from home pay for lodging if the military can't provide it, and they don't get access to the military's nationwide healthcare network, Tricare. (Guard troops can go to military hospitals for free, but few of the coronavirus hotspots they've been called to are anywhere near a base). Some 349 Guard troops have tested positive for COVID-19, although many of those were infected in civilian life and aren't being called up. Why aren't all troops on federal orders already? And why aren't all the troops on federal orders getting full benefits? That has to do with the often-obscure laws governing the National Guard and the way President Trump has chosen to invoke them. First, Trump hasn't yet authorized federally funded Title 32 call-ups across the country. Instead, on March 22, he authorized them only for Washington State, California, and New York – the three initial hotspots – and then began adding states a few at a time in subsequent orders on March 28, March 30th, April 2nd and April 7th. “FEMA generally gives shorter duration mission assignments, normally two weeks,” Lengyel explained, since most domestic disasters take less than a month to resolve. “We in the National Bureau and the Department of Defense saw this [coronavirus] clearly is going to go into May and maybe beyond, [but] FEMA was restricted [in] writing the mission assignments to what was authorized in the presidential memorandum. “I don't want to speculate on why they chose 30 days, but the difference between 30 and 31 is significant,” the general said. “We recommended a longer period of time at the beginning.” The National Guard Association of the US, an influential independent advocacy groups for Guard units, members, and families, has been watching the situation intently and pressing for an expansion of the Title 32 orders. Consistency has been lacking, lamented John Goheen, NGAUS's chief spokesman: “It's really a patchwork as you look around the country, and states are going to interpret things differently. “Section 502(f) of Title 32 was never designed for this. As a result, we are seeing of lot of bureaucratic obstacles and inflexibility,” Goheen told me this afternoon. “Case in point is the limitation on the number of days. NGAUS will be looking to change the law in the future to provide more flexibility.” The last time Title 32 was used on such a scale was Hurricane Katrina, Goheen said “There were some concerns [after Katrina] about the Defense Department being reimbursed so the Defense Department's been reluctant to use it,” he said. However reluctant the Pentagon bureaucracy in general may be, Gen. Lengyel made clear he is trying to fix the situation. “We're authorized now to bring on up to 44,000 total members of the National Guard covered under ...Title 32 ... which gives them federal pay but state control, and now — because the [April 7th] memorandum allows them to be covered for up to 31 days — they will have full insurance and medical benefits,” he said. But troops who were authorized earlier on shorter orders will have to be switched to 31 days, and making sure all new call-ups are for 31, is an ongoing process, Lengyel acknowledged: “There was some sand in the gears on making sure that we had the cost figures right so that FEMA had the exact numbers.” Meanwhile, he said, his staff and the states have started planning for the annual hurricane season. “By hurricane season, which starts in June, obviously, we're hopeful this begins to lull,” he said, “[but] we in fact are looking at implications of what it might be like to do a hurricane response in a COVID environment.” His staff and the states Guard headquarters, he said, are conducting their planning by telephone and video-teleconference (VTC) instead of the usual in-person meetings. Below is the full list of which states President Trump authorized for federally-funded National Guard callups, by date: March 22, three states: California, New York, and Washington. March 28, five states and two territories: Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey; Guam and Puerto Rico. March 30, three states: Connecticut, Illinois, and Michigan. April 2, 10 states, one territory: Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas; US Virgin Islands. April 7, 13 states: Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/04/covid-19-federal-funds-benefits-lag-for-national-guard