The British Strategic Defense Review, titled "Modern Forces for a Modern World," promises a continued build-down of the British armed forces, but at the same time reorganizes the remaining assets to save money and buys some new assets to improve their deployability. Recognizing that responding to regional crises or limited contingencies is now the most common use of armed forces, the British armed forces will be reorganized so that they can provide two brigade-sized groups to two separate locations. With the threat of a large-scale war with Russia now unlikely, The RAF will lose two Tornado squadrons, one of attack Tornados (GR.1s) and the other of air defense F.3s. The remaining Tornado squadrons will lose their antishipping capability, a remote possibility considering the state of the Russian navy.

Another sign of the changing times is a new mission: Defense Diplomacy, which is described as using armed forces to prevent crises.

Most of Britain's forces, including 20 major warships, 22 other ships, four ground force brigades, 11 combat and 160 support aircraft, will be organized into a Joint Ready Reaction Force. This multiservice force will able to react to two "Bosnia-sized" contingencies at once, more rapidly than now.

The RN's surface fleet will be reduced from 35 to 32 ships, and attacks submarines from 12 to 10 boats, but the three Astutes on order will eventually make up part of that number. All the SSNs will be modified to fire Tomahawk. The SSBN force will remain at four, but the number of warheads on each boat will be halved, from 96 to 48. The biggest news for the Navy is that after much agonizing, they will eventually replace the three Invincible-class CVHs with two larger fixed-wing carriers (CV(F)). Each will displace between 40,000 to 45,000 tons, and will be able to operate 50 fixed-wing planes and helicopters.

The fixed-wing aircraft will have to be STOL-capable, and the STOVL version of the new US Joint Strike Fighter is a prime candidate. In fact, the only other candidate is a navalized Eurofighter, launched with a ski jump and recovered by arresting gear.

Given build times, the first metal will have to be bent about 2005-2006, giving only seven years to complete the design and order long-lead time items.

Besides the carriers, most of the other acquisitions are designed to increase the armed forces' mobility. The RAF will lease four C-17s, or a similar aircraft, from the US. The RN will acquire four more Ro-Ro logistics ships, in addition to the two already on order.

Significantly, the amphibious forces will be maintained at their current strength, and the two replacements for Fearless and Intrepid (Albion and Bulwark) are still on schedule.

To increase interoperability for joint operations, the Harrier force (FRS.1/2s and GR.5/7s) will be unified under a single command. RAF Harriers have operated off the Invincibles for many years, and formalizing the arrangement will only make that easier.

Helicopters, except for specialized SAR, ASW, and AEW machines, will also be unified under a Triservice Joint Helicopter Command. This will simplify tasking, training, and maintenance.

The army will have its eight armored regiments reduced to six, but the number of tanks in each unit will be increased.

Also, one of the two parachute regiments will be eliminated. On the plus side, the addition of the AH-64D Longbow Apache will significantly increase Army Aviation's striking power.

The text of the entire White Paper can be read at www.mod.uk

BT