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Britain’S submarine fleet is in an “unstable state”, a former navy The chief has warned amid increasing danger underwater Russia,
Labor counterpart Lord West of SpitheadSpeaking at Westminster, he said the Silent Service was the worst he had faced in his 60 years of military service.
The former Defense Minister informed Parliament that it was “appalling” that at times last year Britain lacked even a single operational attack submarine.
He also expressed concern over the country’s continued pressure on nuclear deterrence at sea.
Lord West made his harsh comments as Defense Secretary John Healey announced plans for a new multimillion-pound high-tech force to protect undersea cables and pipelines against Russian attack.
The hybrid naval force, called Atlantic Bastion, will combine autonomous vehicles and AI with warships and aircraft to identify threats to underwater structures and protect them from interference.
Britain and its NATO allies have grown concerned about Moscow’s threat to the undersea cables and pipelines that carry much of Britain’s international telecommunications data and vital energy supplies such as electricity, oil and gas.
This is underlined by the activities of Russian spy ships such as Yantar, which have the potential to destroy these links.
The National Security Strategy Committee warned in a September report that attacks on undersea infrastructure could cause “catastrophic disruption” to the financial and communications systems that Britons rely on.
Against this background, Lord West told ministers: “Our submarine force is in a poor state, the worst it has been in my 60 years of service.
“Continuous delays in ordering, lack of dry dock investment, failure to recruit and train the required nuclear personnel, delays in training for those we have got, shortages of spares and lack of maintenance, all have taken their toll.
“Does our country realize that, for the past year, this great maritime nation has had only one attack submarine in operation most of the time? At times, it has had none at all.
“This is very appalling for a maritime nation like ours.
“These submarines are war winners. They scare (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and we use them to give the Soviet Union a hard time. That’s what we’ve come to.”
He added: “In terms of continuous deterrence at sea, the boats are having to do 200-day patrols at the moment, there will be no return if anything goes wrong.
“We’ve maintained it, it’s an amazing effort to do that, but oh my God, we shouldn’t be in that position.”
While he believed the Ministry of Defense “understood this”, urgent steps were being taken by the current First Sea Lord, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, to improve the availability and readiness of the Royal Navy’s attack submarines, Lord West urged ministers to go back to the Treasury and seek additional funding to support these efforts.
Defense Minister Lord Coker said more funding had been secured and was being invested.
The Labor frontbencher told the upper house: “We are looking to address some of the challenges he has highlighted.”
Lord Coker said: “I am also pleased to announce to the House that submarine recruitment and retention has also improved.
“I acknowledge the challenges they pose, but with the First Sea Lord and others, we seek to address this quickly and urgently.”