UK Scraps Warships, Helicopters, and Drones in Defence Cuts Despite Threats Abroad

A Phalanx gun is fired by gunners on board HMS Albion during a NATO exercise in the Baltic Sea on June 7, 2019. Ministry of Defence

The UK has scrapped six defence projects, including former Royal Navy flagships, helicopters, and army drones in cost-saving measures, as threats abroad ramp up.

John Healey told MPs on Wednesday that his party received a “dire inheritance” and “billion-pound black holes in defence plans” from the Conservative government.

Labour has to make the “difficult decommissioning decisions” and part with outdated military equipment, he told the House of Commons.

The cost-saving measures include the decommissioning of assault ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, as well as Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland, which Healey said was beyond economic repair.

The list also includes Army’s Watchkeeper drones, two Wave class tankers and 14 oldest Chinook transport helicopters. Healey said that Royal Air Force’s Puma helicopters will also be axed from the service after March 2025.

“These decisions are set to save the Ministry of Defence (MoD) £150 million over the next two years and up to £500 million over five years – savings that will be retained in full in defence,” he told the MPs.

The government has plans in place to redeploy or retain all current personnel servicing the projects, the Parliament heard.

“These are common-sense decisions which previous governments failed to take. Decisions which will secure better value for money for taxpayers and better outcomes for the military,” Healey said.

He acknowledged that cuts came at a time of “war in Europe, conflict in the Middle East, increasing global threats,” but said that “as technology advances at pace, we must move faster towards the future.”

Responding to the announcement in the Commons, former defence committee chairman Sir Julian Lewis said that the absence of the assault ships could encourage an enemy “to try something like the Falklands in the future.”

According to Matthew Savill, military sciences director at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, the defence cuts mainly affect equipment that is approaching retirement.

“But the fact that defence either can’t crew them, or is prepared to cut them to make very modest savings over five years in the current international environment, is an indication of just how tight resources must be in the MoD right now,” he said.

Defence Spending

The government is carrying out a strategic defence review, which aims to establish defence capabilities and reforms to reach the spending of 2.5 percent of GDP on defence.

The call for evidence to inform the review closed on Sept. 30 and recommendations are set to be published in the first half of 2025.

Speaking to the Commons’ Defence Committee on Thursday, Healey said that the 2.5 percent figure has “not been met in this country since 2010 when Labour was last in government.”

He confirmed that plans to achieve the defence spending target will be set out in the spring.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge has suggested that by failing to set a “clear pathway” to 2.5 percent of GDP spending on defence, Labour has brought on the cuts in the sector.

“They’re scrapping key defence capabilities and weakening our national security,” he told the Commons on Wednesday.

The government’s fiscal plans include a defence spending boost of £2.9 billion, to modernise the armed forces and maintain the UK’s leading position in NATO. The October budget also committed £3 billion per year in support for Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

Healey welcomed these financial commitments by the Treasury, amid the announcement of a separate funding package for Ukraine on Monday. The MoD committed £7.5 million for new attack and surveillance drones, which will be invested through the drone coalition led by the UK and Latvia and drawn from the £3 billion annual funding pool.

It comes as Russia’s military said it has shot down two British-made Storm Shadow missiles.

When questioned about whether Storm Shadow had been used by Ukraine, Healy told the Defence Committee: “I won’t be drawn on the operational details of the conflict.

“It risks both operational security and in the end the only one that benefits from such a public debate is President (Vladimir) Putin.”

Speaking to the Parliament on Thursday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “On Ukraine—look, careful decisions are made, coordinated, and collaborated with our key allies.

“On Russian assets, action is being taken, and that is already being done in a number of forums.”

PA Media contributed to this report.