UK to decommission ships, drones and helicopters to save £500m

The UK will speed up the decommissioning of old military equipment to save up to £500m over five years, the government says.

Defence Secretary John Healey told the House of Commons that the move would free up funds for further investment in the armed forces, in line with the government's target of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence.

Ships, drones and helicopters - some more than 50 years old - will be decommissioned.

Responding to the announcement, Conservative shadow secretary of defence James Cartlidge criticised it as "cuts, instead of a pathway to 2.5%".

The government says the move will help with the implementation of the strategic defence review, due to report next year.

The equipment being scrapped is:

• Two amphibious assault ships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark
• A Type 23 frigate, HMS Northumberland, which was in re-fit but has now been ruled as uneconomical due to structural damage discovered during repairs
• Two tankers, RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler
• Watchkeeper WK450 Mk1 drones
• Fourteen CH-47 Chinook helicopters, the oldest Chinooks currently being used by the UK
• Seventeen Puma helicopters, which were first introduced over 50 years ago

Some of the ships are currently on land and were not due to return to sea before their planned retirement, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said, but were still costing millions of pounds per year to maintain.

HMS Northumberland was in re-fit but the MOD says structural damage discovered during repairs means repairing the ship is now uneconomical.

The decommissioned ships will be replaced by a new Type 26 frigate and multi-role support ships.

The Chinook and Puma helicopters being retired have been in use for decades. The Chinooks will be replaced by the newer H-47(ER) variant, which will enter service in 2027, the MOD said. The Pumas will be replaced by new Airbus H-145 helicopters.

No replacement for the Watchkeeper drones has yet been announced. But drone technology has progressed quickly in the 14 years since it was introduced, the MOD said, something which has been particularly obvious during the Ukraine war.

"These are mostly capabilities that are approaching retirement anyway, have been at low levels of readiness or aren’t worth further refits or investment," said Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute think tank.

"But the fact that defence either can’t crew them, or is prepared to cut them to make very modest savings over five years is an indication of just how tight resources must be in the MOD right now."

The MOD believes the changes will help deliver the aims of the strategic defence review, a "root and branch" consideration of the current state of the armed forces, the threats the UK faces and the capabilities needed to address them.

"These are not the only difficult decisions we will need to make as a new government to deal with the fiscal inheritance," Healy said, adding that the changes would "secure better value for money for taxpayers and better outcomes for our military".

The savings will be retained in defence, Healy said, adding that all personnel would be redeployed or retrained.

In the Commons, Conservative shadow secretary of defence James Cartlidge claimed that HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark could have been prepared if needed for a warfighting scenario, contrary to Healy's claims that the ships were effectively mothballed.

Chief of the General Staff Gen Sir Roly Walker said: "I’ve flown many missions in CH47 and Puma, latter day warhorses – and I will miss them.

"But all warhorses must go out to pasture at some stage, oftentimes because we’ve found a faster, better, and cheaper way."

Chief of the Defence Staff Adm Sir Tony Radakin said: "Accelerating the disposal of legacy equipment is the logical approach to focus on the transition to new capabilities that better reflect changing technology and tactics.

"It also complements our taking some tough decisions to ease some of the current financial pressures."