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The UK’s army chief wants traditional investment in warships and fighter jets cut to fund a boost in cyber warfare technology, he told the Sunday Times newspaper.
General David Richards said future conflicts would be fought in increasingly high-tech ways and the threat of cyber-attacks against the UK’s infrastructure now meant radical change was unavoidable.
Britain’s armed forces are facing a new “horse versus tank moment” in dealing with the challenges of modern warfare, he told the weekly broadsheet.
“People say I’m only talking about war with non-state actors,” Richards said, such as the Taliban insurgents currently being fought in Afghanistan. “I’m not. I’m saying this is how even war between states is more likely to be fought in the future.”
He added: “We’ve been in denial ever since the end of the Cold War.”
Since the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Britain has fought stabilization or counter-insurgency operations in theaters such as the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan.
“But in our heart of hearts, we thought that was an aberration, and we’d go back to jolly old war-fighting like in the western desert or a hot version [with battle lines drawn] of the Cold War,” Richards said. “Some are waiting for a conventional invasion of uniformed troops, ready to be repulsed by heavy armor or ships.”
He said Britain’s enemies would have seen from Iraq and Afghanistan “that for relatively little cost, unsophisticated opponents with very cheap weaponry” can pose deadly threats.
“Why would you not learn a lesson from that and think, ‘Actually, that’s how I would bring down great nations and great alliances, much more subtly, cleverly and at much less risk’?” Richards asked.
Despite the push for high-tech equipment, Richards nonetheless said that more manpower was needed, adding: “Soldiers give you the most choice and the most utility in today’s sort of conflict.”
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