Britain can't even defend their own borders with thousands of illegal Immigrants getting into Britain in rubber boats all young men of fighting age but they no on our side
You are right there Bro..there's a Civil war brewing .. And Starmer &Co are trying to stop it by suppressing who he calls "Far right wing Thugs" ( British patriot 's)
@@auxillery8998 💯🇬🇧,they want war then off they jolly well trot.Stop using our sons and daughters for their own selfish political gain.As I said to my son who is a reservist.Tell me what you get out of it,as opposed to what they gain.You get a medal they get wealth.
You are being played by the Zionists. SERCO is bringing in the immigrants. We have been stabbed in the back. The British Army is no way ready for anything.
And those who say "I will fight" are the one's working in the interest of Starmer, the WEF, BlackRock + the entire NeoCon agenda. Not that we'll have a choice soon due to conscription. Ukraine brutally shows mobilisation will get to you no matter where you hide
Starmer would surrender everything as soon as possible. In any case the enemy is already in the country and getting ready for action with the police ready to help.
You make a good point about air defense. But don't forget the enemy who is already within the country's borders as are many other NATO member states and their numbers are growing. Here in the Netherlands we call them the fifth column.
We are nowhere near being ready for war. Successive governments have seen the defence budget as the lowest of low hanging fruit to plunder. Even if we wanted to recruit on a large scale we couldn't, because the defence estate has been sold off. In simple terms, there isn't anywhere to put large volumes of people. When it comes to hardware, we have based our entire military on quality versus quantity. We do indeed have very high quality aircraft, ships and vehicles. But the quantity is very very small.
I’m an ex Gunner and as with many other army regiments, ours was downsized along with other regiments in the army during the Cameron era. My own unit was disbanded along with quite a few others so as you said, our army could now fit inside Wembley stadium and is more akin to a defence force than the army of the Cold War BAOR years. Of course, Cameron justified this saying we needed a “smaller, more agile force, able to meet the threats of the modern era” or some such reasoning. Our army is indeed much smaller but relies on NATO partners as you said and would work with them no doubt very effectively in any future war. I think we would struggle to defend our own shores single handily but again, being part of NATO means other member states are helped where needed. As for air defence, I agree we appear vulnerable but in terms of our defence industry, which you touched on, I think our strength here would be in our technological advancement with cyber and other technologies in areas such as missile jamming and other defensive measures. So overall I think we are reliant on our NATO partners but with our technology and as you said, quality of our Navy, Army and Air Force, could hopefully defend ourselves in a conventional war, but (and it’s a big ‘but’) with support from our allies.
Well general Sharon Nesmith wants to reduce security checks to increase diversity, so really the bigger question is whether "our" troops would fight on our side or switch to the enemy side.
@@peterfeeney721your quite right Peter. There is a lot of people saying that and what they do not realise is that they may be fighting for their own loved ones. Not necessarily for those in Government. There is of course the very well proven concept that a country being employed on Operations attract a lot of recruits. People of a certain age still want excitement and adventure.
@@markturner6755However Starmer and his family won't be involved directly and his loved ones will be safe. If it gets desperate they will jet off to America and get a penthouse in Miami. Still a poor man's fight in the end
I think we should be more concerned of civil war. Islam is getting stronger with a free kick from 2Teir Keir, yet we can't complain or face imprisonment. Our country is sinking fast 😡
There is absolutely no chance a stand alone Falklands campaign being done again.We haven't got any ships. I served with the RFA in support of the RN. We had a global reach with ships in the 4 corners of the globe. We can't man the ships. And most of them are laid up 😢
Quite simply, no. I wouldn't recommend to anyone these days to join up. Just look at the mess we left behind in Iraq and Afghanistan. What did all those brave members of the forces die for? Cheers for the post Keith.
Quite apart from military considerations, one of the big problems is how the hell we feed our swollen population if we are unable import enough food. It was hard enough last time, with a much smaller population and it took a huge military effort just to keep supply routes open.
Good video Keith. Food for thought. The Argies have always been sabre rattling ever since the conflict finished. With the new runway down there ( not so new now!) we could theoretically fly in troops to nan the islands rather than make the journey by sea. That’s if Argie SF doesn’t get ashore and sabotage it first! I hope we could cope with another attempt. A war in Europe would be a different thing, but ad part of NATO, I think it would be a force to be reckoned with. Hope it never happen. Great video. All the best, Mike
Doubtful, although we do apparently have more 'equality and diversity' groups than operational battle tanks. Which is a good start. I am about your age, but unfortunately, never joined up. I have a great respect for our armed forces and am proud to say that my Mam and Dad served in the Second World War, Mam in the ATS and Dad in The Duke of Wellingtons, and as a founder member of REME. Both are no longer with us. I am sure that my Dad would have been disgusted at how our country has changed in the past couple of decades, due to reasons we all know about. Keep going with your excellent channel, (you remind me of Dad in some ways). Best wishes from County Durham.
Not even in the same park, in the post war years and upto the late 1970s Britain actually had a form of home air defence, radar and Sam sites in strategic locations, now we have nothing other than a small fighter fleet which is mostly abroad
Greetings Keith 👊🏼 Partly... as it depends on the size of the conflict or war. 🇬🇧 We have been under strength now, for over a generation, which is an absolutely travesty! 🇬🇧 We're currently on target to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence, which is not enough, given the current world status. 🇬🇧 I would increase it by 0.5% year on year, so that by 2030 it reaches a target of 5% GDP. This would help ensure the UK's defence & security readiness. 🇬🇧 For me, it is fundamental to keep our armed forces, ready to: 🟢 Go, Go, Go... Over the next few generations 💪🏼 All the best, Gus 🍻
At the end of the day the poor will suffer and their families won't have a father or son coming back home. More people would join if Politicians and the royals were 1st to lead by example. That would boost morale at least
Good to hear this topic brought up. I've heard you could get the whole of the British army inside Wembley and that more people work for tescos than have signed up to the army. I do feel we have the best troops though, quality not quantity. I believe the royal navy is struggling at the moment replacing and refitting old stock but then look at the couple of aircraft carriers we now have! Full of tech and mobile. Sadly I'm not too hot on the raf lads though. For a stand alone war, just a feeling, the faulklands we'd protect again right now, I'm just not seeing the government spending the money long term. I've lost faith in the government. Sterling work sir, keep the channel going, God bless
Much love from Dorset!! From a military based family we are far from ready for war , unfortunately after family already being posted out , i feel it too late the war seems inevitable at this point now
I also like that you mention geographically England is a good position like an aircraft carrier Makes me think of George Orwells 1984, Airstrip One led by big brother lol
Good to hear you asking and answering these questions. Technology is fast changing the face of war. Unfortunately, we don’t really have any military defence any more.
The states actually offered use the loan of a full size carrier something at the time we no longer had , that could have helped keep the Argentine aircraft much further away but Maggie declined
Very few people in the UK right now are on the side of the UK government or in support of the current Geopolitical situation and it's the same situation in the US so the morale for a War is certainly not there. In terms of raw resources the UK isn't ready either. America just classified you guys as a tier 3 military. Depleted airforce, 30% of the army are reservists, outdated equipment and low ammo stockpiles to name just a few issues.
The military have been underfunded for years and lacked equipment necessary for the foot soldiers. When my unit went to Northern Ireland in December 1969 the QM staff went to Thatcham and took heavy duty pullovers off the fires where they were being burnt! We were issued the pullovers with a skein of wool to darn the holes!
Industry is the biggest problem, we do have the high tech resources but as everyone has said just not enough people to do the job to produce the hardware. In my part of the world tens of thousands of jobs have been lost in manufacturing a good 80 to 90 percent of production for the MOD. In the same way a good soldier is not trained overnight nor are the people in manufacturing, I have seen this firsthand and it costing the investors millions. No quick fixes. Of course I hope we are never tested in that way, still proud to be British and would do anything I could for our country.
I still live not far from Faslane (HM Naval Base Clyde) and now youve made made me wonder how much air defence there is when i was still serving there was none.
You are spot on there Kevin. Deterents in regards to Air Def in that neck of the woods in the 80's was lax if you ask me. Blowpipe/Javelin,,, later to change to Starstreak systems were available, but not a permanent fixture in the hills surrounding. Lord knows what there is now.
One thing that worries me about the forces is the substance abuse going on in the younger generations. I see it through people I went to school with. And whilst some are generally bigger men than me, many of them are much smaller and I can't see them defending us
Kieth - back in the Cold War we had Bloodhound MK2 SAM Batteries strung along the East Coast of the UK,with Rapier Fire Units used by the RA ( Expeditionary ) and RAF Regt ( fixed ground defense ).The Bloodhounds are long gone,and Rapier is being replaced by Sky Sabre ( Land version of the RN Sea Ceptor ) using CAMM Missiles,but in much reduced numbers.If War came some UOR's might be forthcoming to the US and Europe.The difference now is that our Missile Systems today have been proved to work.
Good update, thanks Paul, I was hoping we had something to defend uk. Do you think we have enough or would they be used only for defence of key installations?
@@LetsTab59-bd4fd The Sky Sabre will be allocated to the RA only ,to be used as and when,but as you know the BA is geared to deploy in an expeditionary way so there will be little if any left to protect key installations etc.Ukraine is providing a lot of data on what works and what doesn't,but as with most things Military the budget can only go so far.In an ideal world the RAF Regt would get their GBAD back.
Hello top man, another great podcast with a serious important question. Please correct me if I’m wrong, I’m a veteran from the nineties, and back then We were under Conservative occupation lol, and our armed forces were being cut, expenditure was cut, regiments being amalgamated or disbanded, bases were being closed down and being built on for housing. So having said that, we have more of our land forces overseas particularly in nato friendly countries like Lithuania Norway and the likes constantly training like wise with our Queens own Hussars ( tank regiment) If I’m right the Territorial army make up a sizeable proportion of the land forces too in which I was proud to serve for 4 years in the Queen’s own Oxfordshire Hussars . So with all the cuts financially, and available manpower and the fact that we don’t have the sizeable industries that we once had like in the 40s , if we came to blows with any non NATO country I fear we would seriously struggle, this a chuffing good reason to bring back National Service too, I personally think the abolition of National Services was the down fall of this once great nation. After all, it never did us any harm being in the Armed forces even if we got grilled and drilled on a daily basis during basic training. Kind regards to you and your lovely wife.🫡
Hi Nick, Thanks for your support and your very valid comments. I agree, as soon as that wall came down and the USSR collapsed, our government immediately began cutting back the armed forces. Would take a lot of time, money and will to regain what we had back in the Cold War days.
We have 7 Typhoon squadrons of 12 A/C each, but only half are less than 10 years old, as for the F35 they are plagued by billion dollar issues and updates. Iron dome is only 1 mile square and we have 3 operational ships with it, but then the Patriot system in Ukraine managed to shoot the first F16 down. You can't offence like we're doing with no defence.
I’ve been wondering about this for some time now. How much time would it take for us to get our air defences in order. Do we have Patriot systems in place and ready to defend us now? How long does it take to build shelter for the civilian population? I could go on and on and on and on.
We can deal with a short war, but i feel we would struggle with anything that lasted more than a few months. As for what's going on in this country and across Europe, the minute you give up is the minute you lose everything that we are. We need politicians with balls, but we don't need psychopaths either.
Bases closed down , reduction in personal and equipment due to constant cutbacks and none of the traditional industrial capabilities we once had , even as little as 40 years ago , we would struggle on our own . But I still think we'd be capable of punching above our weight for a time , we have superbly trained forces personnel. Obviously it would be a different situation going to war alongside NATO forces . In my view we'd be an asset and a vital part of the cog . Hopefully w e never have to see it though .🇬🇧
You are so right about steel, no we couldn't self produce any military grade steel. We also allowed companies who traditionally made a lot of MOD stuff to be sold off to foreign investment, free market and all that, eg Lawrence & Scott sold to the Chinese. So would be tough to say we could be ready. Wild flowers not food another issue...That said we may still have the spirit but some folk need to look hard at Ukraine and take a leaf out of their book. A kitchen knive on the end of a broom handle might not have been my Grandfather's first choice of a Local Defence Volunteer weapon but it was a start. No point whinging but make a difference and back Defence spending
Not impugning the quality of our armed forces, but quantity is the problem. The Royal Navy is very small compared to 1982. Our aircraft carriers do not have enough fighters. I hadn't realised the troop numbers on the Falklands were so low. But least the RAF have a few fighters and other aircraft based there. Too much industry has been let go since 1979. Our last blast furnaces will close soon and we will no longer be able to make our own steel from scratch. I was sorry Royal Ordnance got shut, though maybe the production runs for rifles for our smaller armed forces made it uneconomic? I do think we are short on anti aircraft defence. Lots of relatively cheap drones can overwhelm defences and still cause a lot of damage. (Often not worth firing a million quid missile at a GBP 20000 drone. ) NATO would certainly stand with us in a big war. We need more of everything but cannot afford it. Oh and we have plenty of external enemies, the idea that all our enemies are internal is not correct. THankyou for another interesting video.
The Falklands is covered by Europen Human Rights Convention. A couple of thousand Argentinians could claim asylum and theyvwould outnumbered the residents
The Falkland Islands and South Sandwich are now better protected and could hold until we air bridge extras. I think perhaps can we defend our shores is a more relative question and if you attack one NATO nation you attack all 🤔🕊
I don't think the younger generation interests in going to war to help the rich and the government who have turned against them we have lost freedom of speech Starmer and his friends have turned against the OAPS. My age 72yr I have worked long hours for 50yr years on building sites
THe RAF and Fleet Air Arm already had sidewinders. But the Americans supplied more advanced ones that could be fired at the enemy from any aspect. I think prior to that ours had to be fired towards the rear of the plane where the infra red seeker would pick up the jet pipes. They may have supplied us with other stuff. I remember a British Admiral on a documentary say "We paid cash for everything".
Great video Keith very interesting subjects. I often think the same about here in Australia. Our main threat is China. Not much chance of Chinese troops storming our beaches but the threat of Missile attacks is possible given the range of some of their missiles. Australia plays a large part of defense of the Pacific region along with or Kiwi brothers and the US. The US have Marines based here on rotation in Darwin a Capital of one of our territories. And there is a joint Intelligence base called Pine Gap in the middle of Australia that is ran by Australia and the US (the CIA) so the rumours go. And some of our RAAF bases are being upgraded so they can base B-52 bombers. If there was a war in the Pacific Australia is so under manned under armed that we would need to heavily rely on the US for most things. As for a Iron Dome we have nothing like that. It's only the last 12 / 18 months that air defense has become a priority in a response to the range of some of Chinas missiles. As always awesome video. Keep then coming till next time Keep Tabbing
Excellent point sir(no,I'm not allowed to call you sir ... they're was another acronym 🤣) I have never served: teenage RA army cadet doesn't count: But my maternal grandfather's RHA Sergeant Roughrider Horse stripes were interesting My father's WWII RAF Aircrew Warrant Officer Tate And Lyle sleeve badge was also interesting Somethings we don't talk about
Keith, if you cast your mind back to the first gulf operation, i think Britain put a division together, but as far as I can recall, the British army in europe was stripped of equipment and spares to achieve this. They are certainly not in a stronger state, i think Richard Dannat mentioned sending a brigade strength force to oppose the russians, i think the russians might have a laugh. On the Falklands, if I was Argentina, i would keep a low profile and watch and wait, in the hope that British forces are deployed to eastern europe.
When the current HM Armed Forces don’t have enough Small Arms Ammunition to conduct full APWTs and has two weeks of war stock as we’ve sent most of our ammunition abroad…….. NATO may have less resources too if there is a change of government in the USA. Technology is definitely a huge part of modern warfare. As for the Falklands, apparently the RAF Forces there would be more than enough for any Argentine offensive action. However overall the UK Forces have been severely depleted and I don’t see us getting the support we need over the next 5 years…… However I think we need a societal change to improve what we have. I’ve told my boys to enlist in the RAF Reserve. At least if conscription occurs they are already in uniform and hopefully won’t go near any front line. The UK physically is worth defending but I’m not so sure about other peoples wars anymore. Aye, Ian
Green on mucker from a oldswet my self an ex'service AB ALL THE WAY BROTHER FROM A EX'PARA from 2PARA /SF. TOM BROTHER U GOT IT IN ONE M8. WELL SAID. U toock the word's out of my mush"! BROTHER!! AB ALL THE WAY BROTHER!! Green on mucker
I am EX RAF ..16yrs service. The RAF started to reduce as from the late 80's ..Bases being closed down all over the world. Flooding the UK bases with ground crew etc.. The knock on effect was reduced recruitment and the Govt. Had nowhere to house or accommodate them. When I left the "MOB" the Isle of white was becoming like an over seas posting 🤭🫡🤣 Let's get real "Tab" Governments over the years have reduced spending on our military , reduced the BFG, pulled out or been kicked out of the Mediterranean, or Far east country's. We are minor force ,heavily reliant on the USA ...
The US had major assets based in Britain during the Cold War, yet from the late 50s onwards, air defence of Britain was totally a British responsibility. Warplan UK, Duncan Campbell.
It was a huge mistake shrinking the forces in the first place I said it then and I’ll say it again they should have never folded all those infantry regiments in on eachother
When we see the Russian tanks getting giving a new name " turtle tanks " to protect from Incoming Ordinance During both the desert wars, it may not see the cageing on armoured vehicles of west It's not pretty but it works " Yeah what about the FPVs The defence against FPVs is so incredibly Simple to solve I can't believe that no one else has thought about And if it were my army I would send out orders to keep all physically closed unless a person's passing through And that that special aerial on the roof I feel for our friends " UR " They have right on their side Things are a little hot in our world right now Article 5 worries me I like listening to you
We are still well equipped even now and our troops are very capable and fighting with the rest of nato could do a lot and also could likely fight a stand alone war but only if the enemy was of similar size, government cuts have not helped I was a civilian worker on naval minesweepers in my locol dockyard 30 years ago and I'm pretty sure the royal navy has shrunk a quite a lot since then, I would be prepared to defend britain but I would do it to protect this amazing island we call home and to stop bad things happening to my friends but thats the only reason I'd do it I don't like any of the governments either left or right that we have in recent years and I have no wish to support any of them
Our military and our industrial base has been so depleted over several decades. So no the UKAF are not in a war ready state. I believe the US commentary on HMAF is pretty much spot on. It's a hard pill to swallow I know but the UK gov have wasted money that could have to defense. The choice of aircraft launch from the carriers was the wrong one and tied us into the F35B.
With the government at the moment here, I doubt they would know what to do in isolation. Our forces are the absolute best, but lack of vessels is a concern. I will always be positive about our forces, and the population would rally round. Maybe I'm totally out of touch at 63. Thank you Sgt Major. Thought provoking as always.
I grew up in quarters on an RAF camp in the 60s, but am only ex Royal Observer Corps Grp Control myself, and adult instructor with the ACF after stand down in 1991. Cheers friend.
My freinds son is in the RAF, me being ex RAF often have a chat with him when he is home on leave...what I can learn, the RAF is now more like a "Flying Club" rather than the RAF , I remember when i served ???
Nowhere near ready, apart from the manning levels, the logistics support simply isnt there, I heard an estimate that we had enough Artillery ammo stockpiled for 3 days high intensity warfare. PS the Advanced Sidewinders were not directly supplied by the US, they were taken from UK NATO stocks and then the stocks were replaced from the US As for getting raq materials like steel to produce additional munitions, being reliant on imports from other NATO countries (who would also be in a war) they would be increasing their domestic arms production and supplies would be vasty reduced.
I wouldn’t fight for this country , I’d fight for my people but not this country and those who run it .
Ex RM here, I stopped my son joining up. Why defend a country that's allowing the enemy in each day and putting them up in hotels..
Britain can't even defend their own borders with thousands of illegal Immigrants getting into Britain in rubber boats all young men of fighting age but they no on our side
Very well said. England should stop interfering in other peoples wars. The UK is a spent force.
🎯
You are right there Bro..there's a Civil war brewing ..
And Starmer &Co are trying to stop it by suppressing who he calls "Far right wing Thugs" ( British patriot 's)
@@auxillery8998 💯🇬🇧,they want war then off they jolly well trot.Stop using our sons and daughters for their own selfish political gain.As I said to my son who is a reservist.Tell me what you get out of it,as opposed to what they gain.You get a medal they get wealth.
We can't stop rubber dinghies, so what's makes us think we can stop another professional Army?
I think we could stop them but no one in power seems to want to
You are being played by the Zionists. SERCO is bringing in the immigrants. We have been stabbed in the back. The British Army is no way ready for anything.
Lions led by Donkeys
We don't want to fight for the politicians and corporations.
And those who say "I will fight" are the one's working in the interest of Starmer, the WEF, BlackRock + the entire NeoCon agenda.
Not that we'll have a choice soon due to conscription. Ukraine brutally shows mobilisation will get to you no matter where you hide
It's illegal for me to have weapons for self defence
@@alexblue6991 yes .
Starmer would surrender everything as soon as possible. In any case the enemy is already in the country and getting ready for action with the police ready to help.
He would fight to the death if the enemy was his own people
You make a good point about air defense. But don't forget the enemy who is already within the country's borders as are many other NATO member states and their numbers are growing. Here in the Netherlands we call them the fifth column.
🫡🇳🇱
We are nowhere near being ready for war. Successive governments have seen the defence budget as the lowest of low hanging fruit to plunder. Even if we wanted to recruit on a large scale we couldn't, because the defence estate has been sold off. In simple terms, there isn't anywhere to put large volumes of people. When it comes to hardware, we have based our entire military on quality versus quantity. We do indeed have very high quality aircraft, ships and vehicles. But the quantity is very very small.
our biggest threat is close to home , internal threat is a lot to worry about
Our enemies are all here within our borders,,
And getting strengthened day by day.
We barely have what one could reasonably call a `country` to fight for, anymore. The enemy is well and truly embedded within.
I’m an ex Gunner and as with many other army regiments, ours was downsized along with other regiments in the army during the Cameron era. My own unit was disbanded along with quite a few others so as you said, our army could now fit inside Wembley stadium and is more akin to a defence force than the army of the Cold War BAOR years. Of course, Cameron justified this saying we needed a “smaller, more agile force, able to meet the threats of the modern era” or some such reasoning. Our army is indeed much smaller but relies on NATO partners as you said and would work with them no doubt very effectively in any future war. I think we would struggle to defend our own shores single handily but again, being part of NATO means other member states are helped where needed.
As for air defence, I agree we appear vulnerable but in terms of our defence industry, which you touched on, I think our strength here would be in our technological advancement with cyber and other technologies in areas such as missile jamming and other defensive measures. So overall I think we are reliant on our NATO partners but with our technology and as you said, quality of our Navy, Army and Air Force, could hopefully defend ourselves in a conventional war, but (and it’s a big ‘but’) with support from our allies.
The big problem is what is the quality of our NATO allies, many of them suffer the same troubles as the UK in terms of defence.
No. A General recently admitted that the uk could just about field two brigade's. Just. The UK is literally falling apart.
Two budgies he said
Well general Sharon Nesmith wants to reduce security checks to increase diversity, so really the bigger question is whether "our" troops would fight on our side or switch to the enemy side.
The enemy is within.
Very true, but that's another can of worms, that I think Keith is smart enough to avoid discussing.
Absolutely. It's all deliberate.
@@woden20 yeah those right wing knuckle draggers trying to do the country down! Call themselves patriots!
@@TomMcNeil-wo9ji i don't think a lot of chinese forces are as well trained as the brits .
They come every day by rubber landing craft !!!
In a word, NO!!!
I'm not fighting for these people.
If not you, WHO? Who is going to save YOUR Mum? (I will ...)
@@peterfeeney721your quite right Peter. There is a lot of people saying that and what they do not realise is that they may be fighting for their own loved ones. Not necessarily for those in Government. There is of course the very well proven concept that a country being employed on Operations attract a lot of recruits. People of a certain age still want excitement and adventure.
@@774Rob If we get invaded we'll have to fight and I'm not the surrendering type. Lock and load folks.
@@peterfeeney721 If the Russians are threatening my Mum of course I'd be doing my best.
@@markturner6755However Starmer and his family won't be involved directly and his loved ones will be safe. If it gets desperate they will jet off to America and get a penthouse in Miami. Still a poor man's fight in the end
EVERY KNOWS WE ARE NOT !!!!!!!!!!
Hahahahahaha- hahahahahahaha- it's not even ready for ice cream.
I think we should be more concerned of civil war.
Islam is getting stronger with a free kick from 2Teir Keir, yet we can't complain or face imprisonment.
Our country is sinking fast 😡
First rule of defending sovereign territory... According to Labour you give it away! 😮
There is absolutely no chance a stand alone Falklands campaign being done again.We haven't got any ships. I served with the RFA in support of the RN. We had a global reach with ships in the 4 corners of the globe. We can't man the ships. And most of them are laid up 😢
It's sad to hear such things, I know it's all bad, and isn't getting better anytime soon
Not a hope, totally let down by the shocking calibre of our leaders…..
💯🫡
No I don't think so, the enemy is all ready here.
I wish the politicians would watch your channel
👍💯
Nowhere near ready.
Yep we got 9L sidewinders early...so much better than the previous variant..front and rear aspect angles
Quite simply, no. I wouldn't recommend to anyone these days to join up. Just look at the mess we left behind in Iraq and Afghanistan. What did all those brave members of the forces die for? Cheers for the post Keith.
Cheers John 🫡👍
Quite apart from military considerations, one of the big problems is how the hell we feed our swollen population if we are unable import enough food. It was hard enough last time, with a much smaller population and it took a huge military effort just to keep supply routes open.
Let's not forget Britain in WW2 also grew much more if it's own food as well.
The UK isn’t ready for 2cm’s of snow. 😂😂😂😂
🤣🤣🤣brilliant, also leafs seem to be a bit sneaky as they disrupt our rail network 😀
Fair one. Also I remember the UK almost going into anarchy during lockdown as there was a shortage bog roll 😂
@robd5248 I know, at first I thought maybe COVID give you the shits 🤣
Good video Keith. Food for thought. The Argies have always been sabre rattling ever since the conflict finished. With the new runway down there ( not so new now!) we could theoretically fly in troops to nan the islands rather than make the journey by sea. That’s if Argie SF doesn’t get ashore and sabotage it first! I hope we could cope with another attempt. A war in Europe would be a different thing, but ad part of NATO, I think it would be a force to be reckoned with. Hope it never happen. Great video. All the best, Mike
Very interesting video but in my opinion with the threats we have at home it could be very dodgy
Let's actually test readiness to protect the Main Land. Send our NATO contribution then stage a rerun of BRAVE DEFENDER. It will be a Gang Fook!
Great Keith...poppy appeal soon...got mine
Bishops stortford
Doubtful, although we do apparently have more 'equality and diversity' groups than operational battle tanks. Which is a good start. I am about your age, but unfortunately, never joined up. I have a great respect for our armed forces and am proud to say that my Mam and Dad served in the Second World War, Mam in the ATS and Dad in The Duke of Wellingtons, and as a founder member of REME. Both are no longer with us. I am sure that my Dad would have been disgusted at how our country has changed in the past couple of decades, due to reasons we all know about. Keep going with your excellent channel,
(you remind me of Dad in some ways). Best wishes from County Durham.
Thank you.
I'm an ex Triumph rider had a few other bikes over the years but loved the Triumphs.
@@LetsTab59-bd4fd Excellent!
Look at the fitness level within the Army....
To hold ground you need boots on the ground....
Most would not be capable of any actual physical effort!
Excellent podcast, agree totally with you.
Thanks for listening
In Orwell's 1984, Britain was called 'Airstrip 1'. Just a point. Thanks again Keith 👍
Cheers Geoff 👍
Not even in the same park, in the post war years and upto the late 1970s Britain actually had a form of home air defence, radar and Sam sites in strategic locations, now we have nothing other than a small fighter fleet which is mostly abroad
Greetings Keith 👊🏼
Partly... as it depends on the size of the conflict or war.
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We have been under strength now, for over a generation, which is an absolutely travesty!
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We're currently on target to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence, which is not enough, given the current world status.
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I would increase it by 0.5% year on year, so that by 2030 it reaches a target of 5% GDP. This would help ensure the UK's defence & security readiness.
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For me, it is fundamental to keep our armed forces, ready to:
🟢 Go, Go, Go...
Over the next few generations 💪🏼
All the best,
Gus 🍻
Thanks For The Update Stay Safe ! ( Cuts over The Last 30 Years ? ) I Was Axed 2 Save 6 Million a Year ?😊
I can't believe how the Governments and media announce to the world about our military situation.
At the end of the day the poor will suffer and their families won't have a father or son coming back home. More people would join if Politicians and the royals were 1st to lead by example. That would boost morale at least
I heard that the military doesn't have enough equipment for about a week for let alone a prolonged war.
Manufacturing of ammunition and other logistics, how are your stockpiles, maintenance etc
Not in a good state I would imagine
Good to hear this topic brought up. I've heard you could get the whole of the British army inside Wembley and that more people work for tescos than have signed up to the army. I do feel we have the best troops though, quality not quantity.
I believe the royal navy is struggling at the moment replacing and refitting old stock but then look at the couple of aircraft carriers we now have! Full of tech and mobile.
Sadly I'm not too hot on the raf lads though. For a stand alone war, just a feeling, the faulklands we'd protect again right now, I'm just not seeing the government spending the money long term. I've lost faith in the government.
Sterling work sir, keep the channel going, God bless
Thank you Charlie, its a sad state we find ourselves in.
Much love from Dorset!! From a military based family we are far from ready for war , unfortunately after family already being posted out , i feel it too late the war seems inevitable at this point now
Hi Dorset thank you for commenting 🍻
I also like that you mention geographically England is a good position like an aircraft carrier
Makes me think of George Orwells 1984, Airstrip One led by big brother lol
Good to hear you asking and answering these questions. Technology is fast changing the face of war. Unfortunately, we don’t really have any military defence any more.
Cheers Steve.
The states actually offered use the loan of a full size carrier something at the time we no longer had , that could have helped keep the Argentine aircraft much further away but Maggie declined
Couldn't have operated it anyway - nor the aircraft
Good man Sir.
We need a modern day version of the Dowding System.
Very few people in the UK right now are on the side of the UK government or in support of the current Geopolitical situation and it's the same situation in the US so the morale for a War is certainly not there. In terms of raw resources the UK isn't ready either. America just classified you guys as a tier 3 military. Depleted airforce, 30% of the army are reservists, outdated equipment and low ammo stockpiles to name just a few issues.
no way, cant make anything as we have depended on imports instead of manufacturing
The military have been underfunded for years and lacked equipment necessary for the foot soldiers. When my unit went to Northern Ireland in December 1969 the QM staff went to Thatcham and took heavy duty pullovers off the fires where they were being burnt! We were issued the pullovers with a skein of wool to darn the holes!
Do you remember combat jackets which were neither lined nor water proof; shit show!
@@yorkcity55 still better than the telly tubby combats..... Bad material and not much cotton....
Industry is the biggest problem, we do have the high tech resources but as everyone has said just not enough people to do the job to produce the hardware. In my part of the world tens of thousands of jobs have been lost in manufacturing a good 80 to 90 percent of production for the MOD. In the same way a good soldier is not trained overnight nor are the people in manufacturing, I have seen this firsthand and it costing the investors millions. No quick fixes. Of course I hope we are never tested in that way, still proud to be British and would do anything I could for our country.
Yes correct a point that is always deliberately scooted over by the establishment pundits.
I think the best view would be if a potential enemy would be willing to risk tremendous loss of their own as well, I don't think they would.
I still live not far from Faslane (HM Naval Base Clyde) and now youve made made me wonder how much air defence there is when i was still serving there was none.
You are spot on there Kevin. Deterents in regards to Air Def in that neck of the woods in the 80's was lax if you ask me. Blowpipe/Javelin,,, later to change to Starstreak systems were available, but not a permanent fixture in the hills surrounding. Lord knows what there is now.
One thing that worries me about the forces is the substance abuse going on in the younger generations. I see it through people I went to school with.
And whilst some are generally bigger men than me, many of them are much smaller and I can't see them defending us
Kieth - back in the Cold War we had Bloodhound MK2 SAM Batteries strung along the East Coast of the UK,with Rapier Fire Units used by the RA ( Expeditionary ) and RAF Regt ( fixed ground defense ).The Bloodhounds are long gone,and Rapier is being replaced by Sky Sabre ( Land version of the RN Sea Ceptor ) using CAMM Missiles,but in much reduced numbers.If War came some UOR's might be forthcoming to the US and Europe.The difference now is that our Missile Systems today have been proved to work.
Good update, thanks Paul, I was hoping we had something to defend uk. Do you think we have enough or would they be used only for defence of key installations?
@@LetsTab59-bd4fd The Sky Sabre will be allocated to the RA only ,to be used as and when,but as you know the BA is geared to deploy in an expeditionary way so there will be little if any left to protect key installations etc.Ukraine is providing a lot of data on what works and what doesn't,but as with most things Military the budget can only go so far.In an ideal world the RAF Regt would get their GBAD back.
Hello top man, another great podcast with a serious important question.
Please correct me if I’m wrong, I’m a veteran from the nineties, and back then We were under Conservative occupation lol, and our armed forces were being cut, expenditure was cut, regiments being amalgamated or disbanded, bases were being closed down and being built on for housing. So having said that, we have more of our land forces overseas particularly in nato friendly countries like Lithuania Norway and the likes constantly training like wise with our Queens own Hussars ( tank regiment)
If I’m right the Territorial army make up a sizeable proportion of the land forces too in which I was proud to serve for 4 years in the Queen’s own Oxfordshire Hussars . So with all the cuts financially, and available manpower and the fact that we don’t have the sizeable industries that we once had like in the 40s , if we came to blows with any non NATO country I fear we would seriously struggle, this a chuffing good reason to bring back National Service too, I personally think the abolition of National Services was the down fall of this once great nation. After all, it never did us any harm being in the Armed forces even if we got grilled and drilled on a daily basis during basic training.
Kind regards to you and your lovely wife.🫡
Hi Nick,
Thanks for your support and your very valid comments. I agree, as soon as that wall came down and the USSR collapsed, our government immediately began cutting back the armed forces. Would take a lot of time, money and will to regain what we had back in the Cold War days.
We have 7 Typhoon squadrons of 12 A/C each, but only half are less than 10 years old, as for the F35 they are plagued by billion dollar issues and updates. Iron dome is only 1 mile square and we have 3 operational ships with it, but then the Patriot system in Ukraine managed to shoot the first F16 down. You can't offence like we're doing with no defence.
We got no chance ,most of the kids nowhere days don't know if they are a bird or a bee ,I think we would have to rely on our vets to help
there are all kinds of good modern air defence technologies out there (home grown too), it's mainly just a case of spending the money in my opinion
I’ve been wondering about this for some time now. How much time would it take for us to get our air defences in order. Do we have Patriot systems in place and ready to defend us now? How long does it take to build shelter for the civilian population? I could go on and on and on and on.
We can deal with a short war, but i feel we would struggle with anything that lasted more than a few months. As for what's going on in this country and across Europe, the minute you give up is the minute you lose everything that we are. We need politicians with balls, but we don't need psychopaths either.
Bases closed down , reduction in personal and equipment due to constant cutbacks and none of the traditional industrial capabilities we once had , even as little as 40 years ago , we would struggle on our own . But I still think we'd be capable of punching above our weight for a time , we have superbly trained forces personnel. Obviously it would be a different situation going to war alongside NATO forces . In my view we'd be an asset and a vital part of the cog . Hopefully w e never have to see it though .🇬🇧
We are lucky that we are an Island.
The Falklands are better fortified today! We still have subs in the area etc.
I'll do it!!
Not done active edge for a little while, so I may be a bit rusty though. 🤣🤣🤣
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You are so right about steel, no we couldn't self produce any military grade steel. We also allowed companies who traditionally made a lot of MOD stuff to be sold off to foreign investment, free market and all that, eg Lawrence & Scott sold to the Chinese. So would be tough to say we could be ready. Wild flowers not food another issue...That said we may still have the spirit but some folk need to look hard at Ukraine and take a leaf out of their book.
A kitchen knive on the end of a broom handle might not have been my Grandfather's first choice of a Local Defence Volunteer weapon but it was a start. No point whinging but make a difference and back Defence spending
simple answer ... NO
Not impugning the quality of our armed forces, but quantity is the problem. The Royal Navy is very small compared to 1982. Our aircraft carriers do not have enough fighters. I hadn't realised the troop numbers on the Falklands were so low. But least the RAF have a few fighters and other aircraft based there. Too much industry has been let go since 1979. Our last blast furnaces will close soon and we will no longer be able to make our own steel from scratch. I was sorry Royal Ordnance got shut, though maybe the production runs for rifles for our smaller armed forces made it uneconomic? I do think we are short on anti aircraft defence. Lots of relatively cheap drones can overwhelm defences and still cause a lot of damage. (Often not worth firing a million quid missile at a GBP 20000 drone. ) NATO would certainly stand with us in a big war. We need more of everything but cannot afford it. Oh and we have plenty of external enemies, the idea that all our enemies are internal is not correct. THankyou for another interesting video.
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The Falklands is covered by Europen Human Rights Convention. A couple of thousand Argentinians could claim asylum and theyvwould outnumbered the residents
The Falkland Islands and South Sandwich are now better protected and could hold until we air bridge extras.
I think perhaps can we defend our shores is a more relative question and if you attack one NATO nation you attack all 🤔🕊
I don't think the younger generation interests in going to war to help the rich and the government who have turned against them we have lost freedom of speech Starmer and his friends have turned against the OAPS. My age 72yr I have worked long hours for 50yr years on building sites
THe RAF and Fleet Air Arm already had sidewinders. But the Americans supplied more advanced ones that could be fired at the enemy from any aspect. I think prior to that ours had to be fired towards the rear of the plane where the infra red seeker would pick up the jet pipes. They may have supplied us with other stuff. I remember a British Admiral on a documentary say "We paid cash for everything".
Correct - Argentina had Sidewinders too ,the US Govt supplied us with the then new AIM-9L version which as you say was all aspect.
Great video Keith very interesting subjects. I often think the same about here in Australia. Our main threat is China. Not much chance of Chinese troops storming our beaches but the threat of Missile attacks is possible given the range of some of their missiles. Australia plays a large part of defense of the Pacific region along with or Kiwi brothers and the US. The US have Marines based here on rotation in Darwin a Capital of one of our territories. And there is a joint Intelligence base called Pine Gap in the middle of Australia that is ran by Australia and the US (the CIA) so the rumours go. And some of our RAAF bases are being upgraded so they can base B-52 bombers. If there was a war in the Pacific Australia is so under manned under armed that we would need to heavily rely on the US for most things. As for a Iron Dome we have nothing like that. It's only the last 12 / 18 months that air defense has become a priority in a response to the range of some of Chinas missiles. As always awesome video. Keep then coming till next time Keep Tabbing
Cheers Scott all the best mate 👍
Liebour just signed a defense deal with germany allowing them to have stationed fighter jets in scotland...ffs
Excellent point sir(no,I'm not allowed to call you sir ... they're was another acronym 🤣)
I have never served: teenage RA army cadet doesn't count:
But my maternal grandfather's RHA Sergeant Roughrider Horse stripes were interesting
My father's WWII RAF Aircrew Warrant Officer Tate And Lyle sleeve badge was also interesting
Somethings we don't talk about
Keith, if you cast your mind back to the first gulf operation, i think Britain put a division together, but as far as I can recall, the British army in europe was stripped of equipment and spares to achieve this.
They are certainly not in a stronger state, i think Richard Dannat mentioned sending a brigade strength force to oppose the russians, i think the russians might have a laugh.
On the Falklands, if I was Argentina, i would keep a low profile and watch and wait, in the hope that British forces are deployed to eastern europe.
When the current HM Armed Forces don’t have enough Small Arms Ammunition to conduct full APWTs and has two weeks of war stock as we’ve sent most of our ammunition abroad……..
NATO may have less resources too if there is a change of government in the USA.
Technology is definitely a huge part of modern warfare.
As for the Falklands, apparently the RAF Forces there would be more than enough for any Argentine offensive action.
However overall the UK Forces have been severely depleted and I don’t see us getting the support we need over the next 5 years……
However I think we need a societal change to improve what we have.
I’ve told my boys to enlist in the RAF Reserve. At least if conscription occurs they are already in uniform and hopefully won’t go near any front line.
The UK physically is worth defending but I’m not so sure about other peoples wars anymore.
Aye,
Ian
Green on mucker from a oldswet my self an ex'service AB ALL THE WAY BROTHER FROM A EX'PARA from 2PARA /SF. TOM BROTHER U GOT IT IN ONE M8. WELL SAID. U toock the word's out of my mush"! BROTHER!! AB ALL THE WAY BROTHER!! Green on mucker
Ill take our forces any time ..but i dont think we're big enough
We need a drone TA where nerdy teenagers get paid to play with AI and toy helicopters.
Nope
We have enemies within
I am EX RAF ..16yrs service.
The RAF started to reduce as from the late 80's ..Bases being closed down all over the world. Flooding the UK bases with ground crew etc..
The knock on effect was reduced recruitment and the Govt. Had nowhere to house or accommodate them.
When I left the "MOB" the Isle of white was becoming like an over seas posting 🤭🫡🤣
Let's get real "Tab" Governments over the years have reduced spending on our military , reduced the BFG, pulled out or been kicked out of the Mediterranean, or Far east country's.
We are minor force ,heavily reliant on the USA ...
The US had major assets based in Britain during the Cold War, yet from the late 50s onwards, air defence of Britain was totally a British responsibility. Warplan UK, Duncan Campbell.
Hi Keith, Under General Starmer, of course, we will. Might have a bit of flip-flopping about it
Most definitely NOT we were told if the numbers dropped below 110,000 it wasn’t going to be its now at around 77,000 the numbers speak for itself 😢
And if it was against Russia 🇷🇺 we would be on the wrong side 🔥
It was a huge mistake shrinking the forces in the first place I said it then and I’ll say it again they should have never folded all those infantry regiments in on eachother
No.
When we see the Russian tanks getting giving a new name " turtle tanks " to protect from Incoming
Ordinance
During both the desert wars, it may not see the cageing on armoured vehicles of west
It's not pretty but it works
" Yeah what about the FPVs
The defence against FPVs is so incredibly Simple to solve I can't believe that no one else has thought about
And if it were my army I would send out orders to keep all physically closed unless a person's passing through
And that that special aerial on the roof
I feel for our friends " UR "
They have right on their side
Things are a little hot in our world right now
Article 5 worries me
I like listening to you
We are still well equipped even now and our troops are very capable and fighting with the rest of nato could do a lot and also could likely fight a stand alone war but only if the enemy was of similar size, government cuts have not helped I was a civilian worker on naval minesweepers in my locol dockyard 30 years ago and I'm pretty sure the royal navy has shrunk a quite a lot since then, I would be prepared to defend britain but I would do it to protect this amazing island we call home and to stop bad things happening to my friends but thats the only reason I'd do it I don't like any of the governments either left or right that we have in recent years and I have no wish to support any of them
If history is any judge, the answer is no.
Also, if history is any judge, that answer does not matter.
With that clown sat in Downing St in charge the thought of any sort of conflict frightens the life out of me.
It's unavoidable, all part of a plan that we will never have control over. We are the pawns in the reality game of human chess
@@JoshSealy-qx5mm Very philosophical but also very true.
You and me both Mike, worrying times
@@LetsTab59-bd4fd Would the Falklands rescue happen today ? I am pretty sure two tier Kier would just let the Argies keep it.
Our military and our industrial base has been so depleted over several decades. So no the UKAF are not in a war ready state. I believe the US commentary on HMAF is pretty much spot on. It's a hard pill to swallow I know but the UK gov have wasted money that could have to defense. The choice of aircraft launch from the carriers was the wrong one and tied us into the F35B.
With the government at the moment here, I doubt they would know what to do in isolation. Our forces are the absolute best, but lack of vessels is a concern. I will always be positive about our forces, and the population would rally round. Maybe I'm totally out of touch at 63. Thank you Sgt Major. Thought provoking as always.
Can I ask if you’re a veteran sir?
I grew up in quarters on an RAF camp in the 60s, but am only ex Royal Observer Corps Grp Control myself, and adult instructor with the ACF after stand down in 1991. Cheers friend.
I believe we have more airworthy Spitfires than the RAF has jets!
I like Your banter 😀
My freinds son is in the RAF, me being ex RAF often have a chat with him when he is home on leave...what I can learn, the RAF is now more like a "Flying Club" rather than the RAF , I remember when i served ???
Starmer has given away Chagos, Argentina won’t have to fight for he’ll give to them with money on top for repatriation guilt.
not a hells chance ready, not even ready for a football match, turning off all the power stations cant ramp up industry
No,it isn’t. Nowhere near…
Nowhere near ready, apart from the manning levels, the logistics support simply isnt there, I heard an estimate that we had enough Artillery ammo stockpiled for 3 days high intensity warfare.
PS the Advanced Sidewinders were not directly supplied by the US, they were taken from UK NATO stocks and then the stocks were replaced from the US
As for getting raq materials like steel to produce additional munitions, being reliant on imports from other NATO countries (who would also be in a war) they would be increasing their domestic arms production and supplies would be vasty reduced.