{"id":39930,"date":"2018-01-22T19:54:30","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T19:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/01\/22\/head-of-britains-army-warns-of-eroding-capability\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:19:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:19:57","slug":"head-of-britains-army-warns-of-eroding-capability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2018\/01\/22\/head-of-britains-army-warns-of-eroding-capability\/","title":{"rendered":"Head of Britain’s Army warns of eroding capability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LONDON \u2014 Britain\u2019s Army chief warned Monday that the country\u2019s ability to withstand attack and respond to threats is being eroded by a lack of investment in the military, increasing pressure on the government to boost defense spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Nick Carter said Britain has been left exposed to adversaries such as Russia, which already boast capabilities Britain would struggle to match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe threats we face are not thousands of miles away but are now on Europe\u2019s doorstep,\u201d Carter told the Royal United Services Institute. \u201cWe have seen how cyberwarfare can be both waged on the battlefield and to disrupt normal people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter joins the head of the Royal Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Stuart Peach, in warning that Russia is an increasing threat<\/a>. Prime Minister Theresa May said last year that Russia had \u201cmounted a sustained campaign of cyber espionage and disruption\u201d against other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter\u2019s comments seem intended to pressure Treasury chief Philip Hammond to refrain from further cuts to defense spending, which has been hit hard by government-ordered austerity following the 2008 financial crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some reports have suggested the government is considering combining elite units of paratroopers and the Royal Marines as part of plan to reduce the number of military personnel by 14,000. That would represent a 10 percent reduction from the current staffing level of 137,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, some lawmakers have called for the government to increase defense spending to 3 percent of gross domestic product, from the current 2 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\t