The threat of foreign attack on the UK is now the highest Dr Charles Woodburn has seen in his lifetime. In a rare interview with the BBC, the chief executive of Europe’s biggest defence contractor BAE Systems said the country had been too complacent for too long.
“This is by far the most threatening time I’ve seen,” Woodburn 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.”
“BAE Systems boss warns UK complacent on war threat, says defence spending must rise to 3.5% GDP by 2035.”
Woodburn welcomed the recent boost to defence spending but warned much more would be needed to hit the government’s commitment to spend 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035. The reality of modern warfare, he said, had “changed quite profoundly” and UK defence spending had to change with it.
He pointed to the war in Ukraine, where Russia and Ukraine have become “incredibly adept” at using autonomy in the form of drones and counter drones. “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,” Woodburn said.
BAE Systems itself is racing to adapt. At the Farnborough International Air Show, the company unveiled a life-size model of an unmanned fighter jet – a Collaborative Combat Aircraft – in front of new Defence Secretary Wes Streeting. Four of these jets will accompany a manned fighter, massively increasing firepower at just 20% of the cost of a piloted aircraft.
But Woodburn warned that the world was not far from the use of autonomous lethal weapons by countries that might not follow the UK’s policy of maintaining human control. Despite the push for unmanned systems, he insisted there was still a role for traditional battleships and submarines that BAE has been making for decades.
“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 of the two, he argued, was the “winning” formula.
The warning comes as the war readiness of the UK’s armed forces has been questioned by senior military figures and openly mocked by the US. General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, the First Sea Lord, recently said the navy is not ready for war. Woodburn’s message is clear: the UK cannot afford to be complacent any longer.