25 February 2010: Financial Times
By James Blitz, Defence and Diplomatic Editor
The head of the Royal Navy argued last night that British defence planners must prepare the country for a wide range of military operations in future, predicting the UK might find itself fighting conventional state-on-state conflicts as well as complex operations such as the one in Afghanistan.
As UK service chiefs prepare for the strategic defence review that is likely to follow the forthcoming general election, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, first sea lord, said the UK would be wrong to assume that state-on-state warfare was no longer relevant after the end of the cold war.
"Competition between powerful states is already a feature of our post-cold-war world, as we shift from the unipolar dominance of the
United States to multipolar influence and power," he said. "Competition for resources can only exacerbate the situation."
However, Sir Mark also conceded that the UK military "needs to be able to do much more than simply achieve kinetic effect" if it was to be effective.
"Afghanistan and Iraq have reminded us of the limitations of destructive force when it comes to achieving mission success in complex environments," he told the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "We should be prepared for a wide range of operations and be prepared for them to make long-term demands on our military resources."
Sir Mark also gave a robust defence of the Royal Navy's role in the military structure, saying that maritime forces could not only fight operationally but also have a strategic role in preventing conflict from happening. "They can deliver a range of effects on behalf of a government seeking choice in its means of response to a developing threat to UK interests, whether a warship acting alone or as part of a multinational joint task force."ver recent months senior government officials have been concerned that the three service chiefs appeared to be at loggerheads in advance of the defence review, which will have to decide on whether Britain needs aircraft carriers, fast jets and improved land forces.
However, Sir Mark's speech underscored that the heads of the army, navy and air force are broadly agreed on what future warfare will look like. "The chiefs agree that the future operating environment will be complex, unpredictable and dangerous," he said.
"For all the services, I envisage that will mean an emphasis on agility over sheer weight of numbers and the ability to more effectively tailor forces and capabilities for a specific mission."
