"The worst in my 60 years service": Ex-First Sea Lord slams "parlous state" of Royal Navy submarine service
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A former First Sea Lord has slammed the “parlous state” of the submarine fleet, describing it as the first he has seen in his 60 years of service.
Admiral Lord West of Spithead issued the warning to the House of Lords amid the ongoing submersible threat from Russia. The initial details of Atlantic Bastion, the UK’s plan to combine conventional Royal Navy warships and autonomous systems into a hybrid navy, were showcased amid plans to track and respond to Moscow’s vessels.
New and advanced Type 26 warships alongside submarines will pose a key aspect of this. The UK and its Nato allies have become increasingly concerned about the risk Moscow poses to seabed cables and pipelines, which carry most of Britain’s international telecommunications data and vital energy supplies such as electricity, oil and gas. Attacks on undersea infrastructure could cause “catastrophic disruption” to the financial and communications systems Britons rely on, the National Security Strategy Committee warned in a September report.
Lord West told Parliament it was “horrifying” that at times over the past year Britain did not have one attack submarine operational. He also raised concerns over the pressures faced by the nation’s continuous at-sea submarine-based nuclear deterrent.
“Our submarine force is in a parlous state, the worst in my 60 years of service,” the Labour peer said. “Successive delays in ordering, a lack of dry dock investment, the failure to recruit and train the requisite nuclear personnel, training delays for those we have got, lack of spares and lack of maintenance, have all taken their toll.
“Does our nation realise that, for the last year, this great maritime nation has had one attack submarine operational for most of the time? Some of the time, it has not had one at all. That is pretty horrifying for a maritime nation of our stature. These submarines are war winners. They frighten (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and are what we use to give the Soviets a hard time with. That is where we have got to on that.”
He added: “In terms of a continuous at-sea deterrent, at the moment the boats are having to do 200-day patrols, with no fallback should something go wrong. We have maintained it, it is an amazing effort to do it, but my God, we should not be in that position.”
Lord West urged ministers to put pressure on the Treasury and demand extra funding to support the armed forces. Defence minister Lord Coaker said more funding had been secured and investment was being made. Labour frontbencher said: “We are seeking to address some of the challenges that he pointed out.
“I am also pleased to announce to the House that the recruitment and retention (of) submariners have improved as well. I accept the challenges he lays out but, with the First Sea Lord and others, we seek to address that quickly and urgently.”