EXCLUSIVEEx-RAF Ĺ¡¤»ØƳ¼Ô says Britain's ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë ·³Ââ would run out of ¥ß¥µ¥¤¥ës within DAYS if we went to war - and a new ¡ò1.7billion drone (n)´ÏÂâ¡¿(a)ÁÇÁᤤ is a 'waste of money' that would be ȯ¼Í É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë within a week
A ºÇ¹â¤Î¡¤¤ò±Û¤¹ ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë ·³Â⠻شø´± has ÇúÇËd Britain's woeful ·³¤Î spending µÏ¿¡¤µÏ¿Åª¤Ê¡¿µÏ¿¤¹¤ë and ·Ù¹ð¤¹¤ëd the RAF would run out of ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë-to-¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë ¥ß¥µ¥¤¥ës in a »öÊÁ of days if it was dragged into a ½½Ê¬¤Ê-µ¬ÌÏ war.
¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë Êݰ´± Edward Stringer, the UK's former Director General of ¶¦Æ±¤Î ·³Ââ ¡Ê·³Ââ¤Ê¤É¤Î¡ËŸ³«¡¤ÇÛÈ÷, ·Ù¹ð¤¹¤ëd the nation's ·³¤Î was 'stretched too thinly'.
In a blistering critique, the ¾åµé¤Î RAF Ĺ¡¤»ØƳ¼Ô lambasted Whitehall bureaucrats for failing to È÷Ãߡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë enough ÃÆÌô¡¿Éð´ï.
He also branded a ¡ò1.7bn »ö¶È¡¿·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë to ·úÀߤ¹¤ë a (n)´ÏÂâ¡¿(a)ÁÇÁᤤ of 16 ̵¿Í¤Î drones a 'waste of money', and ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ëd the ¹Ò¶õµ¡ would be ȯ¼Í É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë within a »öÊÁ of days if Britain entered a war with the likes of Russia or Ãæ¹ñ.
Speaking to MailOnline, the RAF ÂàÌò·³¿Í said: 'We have Äɵ᤹¤ëd a thing called the "balanced ·³Ââ". It's lovely if you've got all the money in the world. But we don't.
'How many days would it take before we ran out of ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë-to-¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë ¥ß¥µ¥¤¥ës ? it's perhaps five. It's a »öÊÁ of days. It's certainly not weeks.'
Britain could run out of ·èÄêŪ¤Ê ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë-to-¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë ¥ß¥µ¥¤¥ës in a »öÊÁ of days should the nation be dragged into war, a ºÇ¹â¤Î¡¤¤ò±Û¤¹ RAF »Ø´ø´± ·Ù¹ð¤¹¤ëd (pictured, an RAF jet ²ò¸Û¤¹¤ë¡¿Ë¤²Ð¡¿¼Í·âs a short-ÈÏ°Ï ¥ß¥µ¥¤¥ë)
¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë Êݰ´± Edward Stringer, the UK's former Director General of ¶¦Æ±¤Î ·³Ââ ¡Ê·³Ââ¤Ê¤É¤Î¡ËŸ³«¡¤ÇÛÈ÷, ·Ù¹ð¤¹¤ëd the nation's ·³¤Î was 'stretched too thinly
The ÂàÌò·³¿Í ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë Ĺ¡¤»ØƳ¼Ô also raised ´Ø¿´s about the RAF's new (n)´ÏÂâ¡¿(a)ÁÇÁᤤ of Protector drones, which are »Ï¤á¤ë¡¤·è¤á¤ë to ¼è¤Ã¤ÆÂå¤ï¤ë the Reaper ̵¿Í¤Î ¶õÃæ¤Î ¾è¤êʪs.?
Built by General ¸¶»Ò¤Îs in the US, the ¹Ò¶õµ¡ have a wingspan of about 79ft - bigger than most ¾¦Çä¡¿»Å»ö jets - and can ½ä¹Ò¤¹¤ë at 40,000ft for more than 30 hours.
It is also packed with ´Æ»ë sensors and is Íǽ¤Ê of carrying 500lb ¥ì¡¼¥¶¡¼-guided ÇúÃÆs and ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë-to-ground ¥ß¥µ¥¤¥ës.
But the cost of the new À¤Âå of war machines has ballooned from an ³µ»»¤Î lifetime cost in 2016 of ¡ò1.25bn to ¡ò1.76bn now.?
The price °ú¤¾å¤²¡Ê¤ë¡Ë was ÌÀ¤é¤«¤Ë¤¹¤ë¡¿Ï³¤é¤¹d in a °ìÏ¢¤Î Âç¿Ã¤Î answers to written µÄ²ñ¤Î questions by the ϫƯ party in ºÇ¶á¤Î months.?
¤Ë¤è¤ì¤Ð ʸ½ñs, a ·èÄ꡿ȽÄ꾡¤Á¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë by the ¾Ê of Defence (MoD) in 2021 to ±ä´ü¤¹¤ë the »ö¶È¡¿·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë by two years in a ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ to save cash Äɲ乤ëd an ³µ»»¤Î ¡ò187m to the programme.
Other ÌäÂ꡿ȯ¹Ô¤¹¤ës that led to cost Áý²Ã¤¹¤ës ´Þ¤àd late design changes, which saw the ¹Ò¶õµ¡'s main sensors swapped out to Èò¤±¤ë them becoming obsolete.
Commenting on the Protector drones, ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë Êݰ´± Stringer ·Ù¹ð¤¹¤ëd: 'The RAF is gleefully ȯɽ¤¹¤ëing it's taking the first of the 16 Protector drones.
The ÂàÌò·³¿Í ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë Ĺ¡¤»ØƳ¼Ô also raised ´Ø¿´s about the new ¡ò1.7bn (n)´ÏÂâ¡¿(a)ÁÇÁᤤ of Protector drones (pictured) which are »Ï¤á¤ë¡¤·è¤á¤ë to ¼è¤Ã¤ÆÂå¤ï¤ë the Reaper ̵¿Í¤Î ¶õÃæ¤Î ¾è¤êʪs
·³¤Î Ĺ¡¤»ØƳ¼Ôs, ÀìÌç²Ès an d À¯¼£²È¡¤À¯¼£²°s have °ÊÁ° called for ¤½¤Î¾å¤Î cash to be spent on ²þÁ±¤¹¤ëing Britain's ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë defences, to create an Israeli-style '¥¢¥¤¥í¥ó¤ò¤«¤±¤ë ¥É¡¼¥à'. Pictured is an example of how the UK could È¿±þ¤¹¤ë to a large-µ¬ÌÏ ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë attack, and the areas that could be Êݸ¤ëd?
Pictured is how Russia could ÀøºßŪ¤Ë take advantage of an ¿½¤·Î©¤Æ¤é¤ì¤¿¡¿µ¿¤ï¤·¤¤ 'gap' in Britain's ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë defences, as raised by ·³¤Î ÀìÌç²Ès during a ²ñµÄ¡¿¶¨µÄ²ñ in London last week?
'Billions of ³¤±¤¶¤Þ¤ËÌԷ⤹¤ës have been spent on drones that wouldn't last a week in a war. It's a waste of money.'
He also criticised the UK's ¡ò1.4bn Watchkeeper È뤫¤ËÄ´ºº¤¹¤ë drone »ö¶È¡¿·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë, which has been branded an 'unmitigated ºÒ³²' after Èó¾ï¤Ë¡¿Â¿¿ô¤Î ¾×ÆÍ¡¤ÄÆÍîs?¤Þ¤Ã¤¿¤ÀÃæ¤Ë ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ës the ÁõÃÖs are too ·ã¤·¤¤ and struggle in poor Å·¸õ.
The ¹Ò¶õµ¡, which are ²ÁÃ͡ʤ¬¤¢¤ë¡Ë ¡ò30m a piece, need their own ³êÁöÏ© to take off from, before they can start È뤫¤ËÄ´ºº¤¹¤ëing on enemy positions, said ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë Êݰ´± Stringer.
'How, when you're under ¥í¥·¥¢¤Î Âçˤ ²ò¸Û¤¹¤ë¡¿Ë¤²Ð¡¿¼Í·â, how do you ¿äÄꤹ¤ë¡¿Í½ÁÛ¤¹¤ë to be able to take a couple of days to flatten a field to then »Ï¤á¤ë¡¤·è¤á¤ë up a little Î¥ÃåΦ¾ì to run the little Watchkeeper ? without the ¥í¥·¥¢¤Îs ÇúÇË you,' the ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë Êݰ´± Äɲ乤ëd.
'It's not a ³µÇ° that ºîÉÊ in the modern world.'
ϫƯ's ±Æ¤ò¤Ä¤¯¤ë¡¿Èø¹Ô¤¹¤ë Defence Ĺ´± John Healey °ÊÁ° said the µÞ¤Ë¾å¤¬¤ëing cost of Protector was an example of the MoD's 'broken' Ĵã system and wasteful ÂÖÅÙ to taxpayers' money.?
Tory MP ¼¨¤¹ Francois, a former ÉðÁõ¤·¤¿ ·³Ââs Âç¿Ã, was also worried about the ÌÀ¸À¤¹¤ë¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë of the RAF.
Mr Francois, who sits on µÄ²ñ's ±Æ¶ÁÎϤΤ¢¤ë Defence °Ñ°÷²ñ, told MailOnline: 'Not only do we have a ¸Â¤é¤ì¤¿¡¿Î©·ûŪ¤Ê war reserve of ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë-to-¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë ¥ß¥µ¥¤¥ës, we have no reserve at all of ÀïÆ® ¹Ò¶õµ¡ to ²ò¸Û¤¹¤ë¡¿Ë¤²Ð¡¿¼Í·â them.?
'That is why it's ·èÄêŪ¤Ê that when the RAF retires its 30 tranche one ÂæÉ÷s next year it abandons ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës to sell them off but instead places them in Ãù¢ as a 'war reserve Æ®»Î¡¤ÀïÆ®µ¡ wing' of three ²ÁÃͤΤ¢¤ë Æ®»Î¡¤ÀïÆ®µ¡ µ³Ê¼ÂçÂâs instead.?
Former defence Âç¿Ã ¼¨¤¹ Francois called on the MoD to not to sell off 30 of the UK's oldest ÂæÉ÷ jets and instead keep them in reserve (pictured is a ÂæÉ÷)
'It takes four years to build a ÂæÉ÷ from scratch so far better to keep them - just in »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ô.'
This week saw Rishi Sunak committing the UK to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030 - as the ÁíÍýÂç¿Ã sought to put the country on a 'war ÃÏÈ×'.
The ÀÀÌó¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë was trumpeted as the biggest defence ¾å¤²¤ë in a À¤Âå, equating to an Äɲ乤ëd ¡ò75bn going into the MoD.
¤¢¤é¤ì¡¿¾Þ»¿¤¹¤ëing a 'turning point' in ¹ñ²È¤Î °ÂÁ´, the PM said ·³¤Î spending ¾å¤²¤ë would make Britain 'by far the largest defence ÎÏ¡¿¶¯ÎϤˤ¹¤ë in Europe'.?
The Åê»ñ ¾ÚÌÀ¤¹¤ëd a major victory for the Mail's 'Don't Leave Britain Defenceless' ¡ÊÁªµó¤Ê¤É¤Î¡Ë±¿Æ°¤ò¤¹¤ë, which was calling on the À¯ÉÜ to stump up billions more to better ÍÑ°Õ¤¹¤ë the nation's ·³¤Î.?
Last month a former defence Âç¿Ã ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ëd Britain's ·³¤Î È÷Ãߡʤ¹¤ë¡Ës were so low, the country would run out of ÃÆÌô¡¿Éð´ï in 10 days if war broke out.?
ϫƯ MP John Spellar, who served as ÉðÁõ¤·¤¿ ·³Ââs Âç¿Ã between 1999 and 2001, told µÄ²ñ: 'The Âç¿Ã rightly speaks about the ability to »Ù¤¨¤ë fighting, he knows that an ±é½¬ ¹Ô°Ù¡¿¹Ô¤¦d with the Americans showed that the British Army would run out of ·³¼ûÉÊs within 10 days.'?
MailOnline has approached the MoD for comment.??