Examining state of UK’s defence capabilities after Trump claims

Donald Trump claimed Britain didn’t “even have a navy” as he criticised Sir Keir Starmer's refusal to be drawn into the Iran war. FactCheck examines the real state of the UK’s defences.

Produced by Claire Wilde, additional reporting by Charlie Williams

President Trump claimed Britain didn’t “even have a navy” in his latest dig at Sir Keir Starmer over his refusal to be drawn into the Iran war.

He branded the Royal Navy “too old”, with aircraft carriers that don’t work, The Telegraph reported yesterday.

The strength of the UK’s armed forces has been under particular scrutiny since the warship HMS Dragon took three weeks to arrive in Cyprus after a drone struck the British base RAF Akrotiri.

So what is the state of our defence capabilities?

You’re reading InDepth: A weekly long read from Channel 4 News offering quality analysis and insight, diving deeper beyond the headlines

Comparing UK to France

Well, of course the UK is a nuclear power, one of nine around the world.

France, another nation on this list, is a good country to measure ourselves against. It’s a fellow Nato member with a similar-sized economy and population. So how do the two countries measure up?

In terms of funding, the UK has the edge — spending an estimated 2.4 per cent of GDP on defence last year, compared to 2.05 per cent in France, Nato figures show.

But in terms of personnel, it’s a different story. The UK had 137,000 regular full-time troops last year, across the army, navy and air force, while France had 200,000.

France is also due to introduce a form of national service later this year, aimed mainly at 18 and 19-year-olds who would volunteer for a paid 10 months of military training.

The UK’s troop numbers are the lowest since at least 1900, according to data from the House of Commons Library.

The post-World War II peak was 872,000 personnel back in 1952, the figures show.

By the year 2000, this had fallen to 208,000. As of last April, it stood at 137,000.

What about our military kit?

Last year the UK armed forces had 288 Challenger 2 main battle tanks, 61 more than five years before, despite having sent 14 to Ukraine.

But many other areas have seen shrinking numbers. The UK had 504 aircraft — fighter jets as well as other planes — 25 fewer than five years before.

There were 276 helicopters, 35 fewer than in 2020. And the Royal Navy had 57 ships, down by ten in the past five years.

@c4newsPresident Trump claimed Britain didn’t “even have a navy” in his latest dig at Keir Starmer over his refusal to be drawn into the Iran war. But what is the real state of the UK’s defence capabilities? #Trump #Statmer #Military #Channel4News #C4News

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

There are also questions about combat readiness.

Ministry of Defence data doesn’t show how many of the main battle tanks were in full working order (in 2023, Parliament’s Defence Committee heard just 157 were available).

But our analysis of the data shows that last year five Royal Navy ships were out of service, as were 73 helicopters and 67 planes.

‘Ready to face future threats’

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said they were investing more than £270bn in defence across this Parliament, “ensuring no return to the hollowed out armed forces of the past”.

The spokesperson said the Royal Navy would “soon be bolstered” by eight replacement frigates, three of which would enter service before 2030.

And its upcoming Defence Investment Plan would soon “set out how we deliver the best kit into the hands of our armed forces over the next decade, ensuring they are ready to face future threats”.

What’s clear is that in this new era of geopolitical uncertainty, the UK’s military capabilities will remain under close scrutiny both at home and on the global stage.