UK is also buying 'loads of new equipment', as is always the case given a capital budget of umpteen billions, not even counting the UOR stuff that is procured from a budget increment for operations.  And who says the French don't complain about being short of cash?

We in the UK try to develop everything indigenously or be good little Europeans which often means we buy the wrong equipment at the wrong cost for political rather than military reasons.

 

We bought a more expensive and less flexible vertical launch system from France for out Type 45 destroyers when there was a better, cheaper US alternative. We are buying huge numbers of Eurofighters when a tactical fighter, which in the case of the first third of the aircraft has very limited ground attack capabilities, is far less relevant than other equipment such as battlefield helicopters.

 

The fact we order small quantities of things such as the Astute nuclear attack submarine means we lack design experience, we have to spread development costs over relatively few units and there is no competition in the marketplace with BAe systems bidding low knowing that they can push the costs up when consturction is underway and there is no-one else seriously bidding. ALl that leads to very expensive kit.

 

In addition, unlike France, we are fighting two major conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, in effect fighting two small wars on a peactime defence budget. The US has dramatically increased funding to fight these conflicts. UK increases have been modest and whilst above the general rate of RPI, they are below RPI for defence equipment which the Treasury Select Committee estimated at 10% meaning our procurement spend shrinks in real times year on year as well as finding iteslf robbed to meet urgent needs in the conflicts that the government has sent the armed forces into and refuses to pay for.

 

The uk spends $68lb a year on defense compaired to France who spends only $60lb a year but France has a military of 260,000 compaired to our 190,000, They are also buying loads of new equipment while we are comstantly short on cash.
Is this because of the incompotant of the MOD or for anouther reason.

its not just how many or how expensive....... its what you CAN actually do with it....

 

a combination of all the other posts above....

 

we inhouse small number expensive projects when you need to maintain the tech production capability (Astute).... we combine with foreign powers on bigger number projects when needed (F35 and Eurofighter) and we train like we want to be the best at what we do.

 

Paul