(PresidentialDaily.org)- The UK Parliament’s Commons Defence Committee released a report this week warning that ammunition stocks are at “dangerously low levels” due to lethal aid transfers to Ukraine, the UK Telegraph reported.
The MPs warned that it could take at least ten years to replenish the UK’s munitions stockpile. Noting that the process for purchasing weapons is “not fit for purpose,” the committee called on the Ministry of Defence to reduce the time needed to replenish the dwindling stockpiles.
In its report, the committee notes that while Russian forces are also facing dwindling stockpiles, other adversaries are not only able to maintain their stockpiles, but they can also “potentially increase” them.
The MPs warn that the UK’s inability to replenish its stockpiles not only risks the country’s ability to supply lethal aid to Ukraine but could also hinder the UK’s ability to counter threats to its security.
The committee’s report comes as the Ministry of Defence is scheduled to receive an increase in funding in the upcoming budget.
While speaking at a London defense conference on Monday, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace expressed confidence that the Ministry of Defense would see an increase in support in the budget released next week, the Telegraph reported.
However, Wallace added that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government must “send a strong signal” that the Ministry of Defence will receive a “greater share” than what is “traditionally done.”
Wallace also warned that defense forces throughout Europe have experienced a “hollowing out” for decades in part due to successive UK prime ministers defunding defense while military leaders went “along for the ride.”
In its report, the committee said it was essential that the UK’s defense industry is “resilient and scalable” if it expects to increase production. It recommended that the Ministry of Defence present a plan of action outlining how it will “grow defence industrial capacity” while reducing the time it takes to replenish stockpiles.
