The Ministry of Defence has discovered a thrilling new way to make military spending sound like a trip to the marina. Its announcement on 28 June promised more than £500 million to continue transforming the UK Commando Force, including high speed Joint Commando Craft, drones, uncrewed vessels and larger amphibious ships. The little boat saluted, then asked whether urgent equipment could arrive before the next urgent investment plan.
The announcement presents the Future Commando Force as a rapid, lethal and technologically transformed answer to an increasingly dangerous world. It also says the Defence Investment Plan is expected to be published ahead of the NATO Summit. This is not quite the finished plan landing on the desk. It is the promise of a plan, wearing a very confident uniform.
Nearly £100 million is intended for transformative technology, including uncrewed vessels, next generation communications, networked targeting and strike drones. The little boat welcomed the news, although it has requested clarification on whether becoming autonomous means gaining a promotion or losing its employment.
The announcement also includes investment in larger amphibious ships and aims to create a combined fleet with the Netherlands. Somewhere, a very large vessel is being briefed that it must be nimble, interoperable and economically beneficial, despite having the turning circle of a county and the paperwork of a small ministry.
The High North is central to the transformation. The new craft could support maritime security operations, including the seizure of Russian shadow fleet tankers. That is a serious strategic purpose. It is also the sort of sentence that makes a small boat wonder whether it should carry boarding equipment, diplomatic paperwork or a packed lunch.
The language keeps returning to immediate priorities and the latest kit reaching the frontline. The little boat has prepared a checklist containing boat, drone, amphibious ship and a note asking everyone to remain calm while the procurement process demonstrates its traditional gift for turning urgency into heritage.
The equipment is not the joke. The joke is the ceremony around it, in which speed is announced through investment plans, transformative technology and vessels large enough to make yesterday’s delay look positively agile. Every object has a strategic role, and every strategic role appears to have a meeting attached.
By the time the Defence Investment Plan is published, the little boat hopes to have mastered the central military skill of the age: moving quickly while remaining perfectly still in the approvals queue. At least the press release has already reached the frontline, since it got there without asking procurement for a life jacket.
Source: GOV.UK.
