I wonder if this will disclose infrastructure shortcomings so it can be reclassified as defence spending?
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That’s meant to be in the 1.5% that takes it up to 5% isn’t it?
There was a report today about needing to put air defences in our ports. The problem is that there are so many weak spots!
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Well, if intruders / cruise missiles have breached the main lines of defence, all is probably lost anyway! How about the (recently) retired frigates - make them “static” AD platforms for key locations on the coast? That said, probably more expensive to run than a Patriot battery!
Probably!
The USMC and the French have experimented with putting vehicles on ships for AD and additional firepower against surface targets. But an ISO container mounted on a barge would likely cost less than a retired warship.
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Genuinely what the
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Train hard - fight easy - or perhaps, no fighting at all! 
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Is it actually true though, reading the report in the Times it seems more about moving resources to small-team drone training and the like.
Battle group exercises with heavy metal and aviation are always expensive.
But our ability for large-scale exercises should not be compromised, because there are still plenty of circumstances in which conventional is still relevant.
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Eurgh, the Express.
The reality is “non-essential” with a specific focus on live fire.
The Army should be free to do whatever training SLT feel necessary. They are one of very few government agencies where the government really shouldn’t meddle.
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Consider the above with the news of Argentina ramping up the Falklands rhetoric again.
Does anyone think we’re liberating the islands with drones?
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This will be the most conventional of conventional wars if it breaks out
Whilst our numbers are certainly reduced from the task force we were able to send in 1982, this pales in comparison to the atrophy of Argentina’s military capabilities.
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We don’t need to worry about Argentina having a crack at The Falklands again any time soon. This is purely about the oil, they want a piece of it.
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Drones could actually be a good way to bolster the islands’ defences.
Would need to be capable in all wind conditions. From Wiki:
There is almost no seasonal variation in wind direction, which is less than 17 knots (31 km/h) for 60 percent of the time, from 22 to 33 knots (41 to 61 km/h) for 20–25 percent of the time, and 34 knots (63 km/h) and above 8–12 percent of the time.[8] Gales are frequent, especially during winter.[5] The average wind speed in Stanley is 16 knots (30 km/h).[8]
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Solvable by having a few sqns of the Milrem-type UGVs sporting 50 cal and GMGs stooging around the western reaches.
Wouldn’t want to face those during an opposed beach landing.
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