UK defence spending ‘not enough to protect the country’, BAE boss warns

The chief executive of BAE Systems has warned that Britain’s defense spending is “vastly inadequate” to what is needed to protect the country.

Charles Woodburn described the current environment as “the most threatening time I have ever seen” and warned that Russia’s military advances before and during its war with Ukraine were a significant concern.

Despite the government announcing an additional £15 billion for defense in June, then defense minister John Healey resigned, citing insufficient military funding.

At the time, Mr Healey wrote a letter to Sir Keir Starmer stating that “at this time of increasing threats, the country is unable and unwilling to allocate the resources it needs to defend the country.”

Mr Woodburn said the extra funding still “falls well short of what is needed to protect the country”.

“This is the most threatening time I have ever seen,” he told the BBC. “Even when I joined the company in 2016, I was amazed when I saw what Russian submarines were doing and their cyber attacks.

“I think we’ve unfortunately come a long way on that as a result of the Ukraine conflict; we’re much more aware of the imminence of a hot war in Europe.”

He said modern warfare had “changed quite profoundly” and said Russia and Ukraine had become “incredibly adept” in the use of drones and counter-drones.

“This is something we now really need to understand and make sure we can provide the capabilities to counter this and deter aggression,” he said.

Shares in BAE Systems rose 3.25 per cent, while other defense companies also saw gains on expectations that Mr Healey would commit more to defense spending following his appointment as Chancellor on Monday.

“We see it as a very positive thing that he understands the defense requirements,” Mr Woodburn said.

BAE Systems this week announced that the Ministry of Defense had awarded it a £708 million contract extension to continue developing next-generation fighter jets.

New Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said: “This investment in advanced combat air technology for the UK Armed Forces will strengthen our defense and deterrence and demonstrate our clear commitment to supporting British workers with our defense investments, creating jobs and supporting communities across the UK.”