LONDON, May 14 – If major events of geostrategic relevance in the last couple of years are put under the lense, it would seem that the Britishers are coming out of their corner to play a more active role on the global stage. UK joining the AUKUS is one such example. As such, the British defence minister Grant Shapps announcing that he would order up to six new warships for the Royal Marines, came as no big surprise. The move also indicates which service will be the greater beneficiary of the recently announced rise in defence spending
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in April that he would increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, saying the British arms industry must be on a “war footing” when the world is at its most dangerous since the Cold War.
Shapps said on Tuesday that the new vessels, known as Multi Role Support Ships, will be built in Britain and will help strengthen Britain’s amphibious special operations, using commandoes for future battles.
The government had said in 2022 it would build new ships for the Royal Marines. “It’s something we’re now able to do because the money’s been pledged to defence,” Shapps told the BBC.
He will speak at the Sea Power Conference in central London later on Tuesday, where he will also say that two current Royal Marine assault ships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, will not be scrapped or mothballed before their planned out of service dates in 2033-2034.
The six new vessels are part of a programme of 28 ships and submarines being built or in the pipeline for Britain’s Navy, which Shapps said represented “a new Golden Age for British shipbuilding”.
BAE Systems BAES.L, Britain’s biggest military contractor, and another UK defence company, Babcock BAB.L, are amongst the companies involved in building those 28 ships.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
Team Bharatshakti
