The UK has been too complacent about the risk of foreign attack, the boss of Europe’s biggest defence contractor BAE Systems has warned, describing the current threat level as the highest he has seen in his lifetime.
In a rare interview with the BBC, Dr Charles Woodburn said the reality of modern warfare had “changed quite profoundly” and that British defence spending must change with it. He welcomed the recent boost to defence spending but said much more would be needed to hit the government’s commitment to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035.
“BAE Systems boss Dr Charles Woodburn warns UK complacent; threat level highest he has seen, demands more defence spending.”
Woodburn pointed to the conflict in Ukraine as a stark example of how warfare is evolving. Russia and Ukraine had become “incredibly adept” at using autonomy in the form of drones and counter-drones, he said. “It’s something that we now have to really understand and make sure that we’re able to provide the capabilities that can counter that and deter aggression.”
At the Farnborough International Air Show, BAE Systems unveiled a life-size model of an unmanned fighter jet – the Brontanax Collaborative Combat Aircraft – in front of the new Defence Secretary Wes Streeting. Four of these aircraft will accompany a manned fighter to massively increase firepower at just 20% of the cost of a piloted aircraft. However, Woodburn cautioned that traditional battleships and submarines still have a role. “If you look at what our adversaries are building, they’re also building significantly large platforms – aircraft, ships, submarines. And they’re supplemented by some of these unmanned capabilities,” he said. The combination, he argued, is the “winning” formula.
Woodburn also warned that the UK was “not far” from the use of autonomous lethal weapons by countries that may not follow Britain’s policy of maintaining human control. He said the UK had been complacent for some time about the level of threat it faced – particularly from Russia. “This is by far the most threatening time I’ve seen,” he said. “Even when I joined the company in 2016 I was amazed at what we saw Russian submarines doing, the cyber attacks. I think that’s come a long way sadly as a result of the Ukraine conflict we’re much more aware of the proximity of a hot war in Europe.”
The war readiness of the UK’s armed forces has been questioned by senior armed services figures and openly mocked by the US. General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, the First Sea Lord, recently said the navy is not …