Defense duo calls for increase in spending: Airbus and Babcock urge ministers to strengthen UK armed forces

Britain’s top defense companies have joined calls for Britain to spend more on its armed forces.

In an unusual intervention, the British boss of Airbus, which employs 12,000 staff in Britain, said the invasion of Ukraine had shown that the sector can no longer be seen as a nice-to-have. The world’s largest aircraft manufacturer supplies essential military equipment, such as helicopters.

Ben Bridge, the UK boss of Airbus Defense and Aerospace, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The need for Britain to improve defense spending and nurture its sovereign defense capabilities is not just a vanity project.

“It is the minimum requirement at this time to ensure that we comprehensively anticipate the rapidly evolving nature of warfare and ensure that NATO remains united against any potential threat.”

David Lockwood, head of Babcock International, which provides training and equipment to the armed forces and is the sector’s second-largest contractor behind BAE Systems, said the war in Ukraine has “fundamentally changed assumptions about the risks we face ‘.

Defense Secretary Grant Shapps has repeatedly called for defense spending to increase from 2.2 percent to at least 2.5 percent of national income.

The Ny Breaking has launched a campaign for an immediate cash boost to the armed forces so Britain can deter further aggression from Vladimir Putin and counter growing global threats.

The campaign is backed by four former defense secretaries: Sir Michael Fallon, Sir Gavin Williamson, Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Lord Hammond.

An increase in spending would trickle down to Britain’s world-class defense sector, which employs almost 150,000 people.

But a report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee shows a funding gap of up to £29 billion over the next decade, which MPs say will lead to plans for crucial equipment being scrapped.

Shapps has warned that Britain has moved from a “post-war world to a pre-war world” and criticized the chancellor for failing to increase support in the budget.

Charles Woodburn, head of BAE Systems, said: ‘Devastating conflicts around the world show that the era of peace dividends is well and truly over.’

The Ministry of Defense says Britain is spending record sums on defence, including an extra £24 billion between 2020 and 2025, deploying the army on ‘every’ NATO mission, supporting Ukraine and tackling Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.