While the government announced 16 16.5 billion in defense spending in 2020, the shift to the Indo-Pacific meant a renewed focus on the navy and air force with Britain’s ground forces lagging behind, Lord Dannatt said. He suggested that the Comprehensive Review be re-examined, given that it had been drafted before the Moscow invasion of Ukraine, and that defense spending should be increased. “The government is not going to change its priorities. “His inclination towards the Indo-Pacific in the context of World Britain is something they strongly believe in.” “But the land war in Europe really means that we have to look at the potential of our land, which is poor at the moment. “So the inevitable logic is that our defense spending needs to increase from two percent to almost three percent.” Mr Ellwood, a former Army captain, said: “The new British army chief’s deep warning to his troops reflects the turning point in European security for which events in Ukraine are just the beginning. “Britain is ahead of other NATO allies in questioning Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, but this Russian fire is likely to spread elsewhere and we must prepare.” He warned that the review “is now obsolete, as is the 2.2 per cent peacetime defense budget”.
