A new report from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) urges the UK to prepare for mass mobilization and double its land force personnel numbers due to threats from Russia, warning that the country has a tradition of mobilizing too late. The report, authored by senior associate fellow Paul O'Neill, states that the best time to start ramping up UK mobilization plans was 10 years ago, and the next best time is now. O'Neill said the UK has a tradition of mobilizing too late, and governments do not want to commit to economic costs. He added that it is uncertain whether it will be too late.
As of April last year, there were 181,890 people in Britain's Armed Forces, with 82,000 in the army, according to the House of Commons Library. Of the total, 17.5% were volunteer reserves and 77.7% were full-time service personnel. However, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said the UK is reversing the four-year decline in armed forces recruitment, with more personnel joining than leaving for the first time since 2020. The spokesperson also noted that female applicants to the Army are at the highest level in five years.
Is it going to be too late? I don't know.
RUSI's report says conscription in Britain is currently unrealistic as society is not ready and the Armed Forces cannot absorb or train a significant intake. In contrast, Germany is pursuing massive rearmament plans aiming to spend about £132.7 billion (153 billion euros) on defence by 2029.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton told Sky News an updated version of the Government War Book is being prepared to prepare the UK for war. Dr Rob Johnson, Director of the Changing Character of Conflict Centre at Oxford University, warned the world is really quite close to the threat of armed conflict. He said that a majority of indicators of conflict preparation and armed attack on a dashboard he devised are flashing.