Difficult decisions will have to be made.

The UK’s most senior military officer has admitted that the UK Armed Forces will struggle to deliver all of its desired capabilities and programmes within the current financial commitments confirmed by the government.

Appearing before a House of Commons Defence Committee on 12 January, Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Sir Richard Knighton, the UK's Chief of the Defence Staff, acknowledged that “we can’t do everything we would want to do as quickly as we would want to do it within the context of the budget we set”, adding that difficult decisions will have to be made. 

This comes more than six months after the UK Government published its Strategic Defence Review, detailing its core priorities and requirements for bolstering the military. Supporting this was a pledge to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, 3% in the next parliament, and 3.5% by 2035 – although the roadmap for reaching the 3% and 3.5% targets are yet to be laid out.

The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) is due to outline where this money will be allocated. However, it has been beset by delays. Originally slated for late summer, its publication has been pushed back repeatedly.

Recent reports in the Financial Times suggest the delay partly stems from a GBP28 billion defence spending shortfall identified over the next decade. The plan is not expected until March, the publication claims. 

ACM Knighton declined to comment on the GBP28 billion shortfall or on when the DIP would be completed during the committee session.

However, he acknowledged that “we are not as ready as we need to be for the kind of full-scale conflict that we might face”, with difficult decisions ahead for the military.

One possible idea being considered to deal with the funding and capability challenges is to slow some programmes down, he said, although he avoided questions on whether some would be cut. 

The ongoing delay of the DIP has led to widespread frustration across the UK defence community, with industry leaders warning that without clear demand signals they cannot commit to long-term investment or the expansion of production capacity.  

Recognising this, the chair of the defence select committee, Tan Dhesi, said: “We seem to be trundling along rather than realising the urgency of the moment.”