Published
May 21, 2024Page count
244 pagesISBN
978-1529229905Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Nov 23, 2022Page count
244 pagesISBN
978-1529229899Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Nov 23, 2022Page count
244 pagesISBN
978-1529229912Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Nov 23, 2022Page count
244 pagesISBN
978-1529229912Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University Press
Understanding UK Military Capability
Between 2021 and 2031, the UK government is set to spend over £230 billion on its military. Who decides how to use these funds, and how can we be sure that the UK’s armed forces can meet the threats of tomorrow?
This book provides the answers to these crucial questions. Concentrating on decisions taken below the political level, it uncovers the factors that underpin the translation of strategic direction into military capability. In a series of interviews, over 30 top admirals, generals and air marshals give their own views on the procurement and maintenance of the nation’s current and future military capability. Their unrivalled professional knowledge and experience affords a fascinating insight into the higher management of national defence.
"Understanding UK Military Capability is very much a scholarly work, drawing as it does from a PhD, well-written, with the author providing a highly detailed yet engaging read…This book is highly recommended." The Naval Review
“The defence establishment is a convenient whipping boy for commentators who constantly bemoan how the billions spent on defence are somehow never enough. In some ways the establishment deserve it, and in other ways not. But very few people understand the true problem of producing real, usable, military capability. Andrew Curtis does, and here he gets to the root of the issue within the higher management of Britain's national defence. For all serious defence analysts, his work is fascinating, alarming – and important.” Michael Clarke, Former Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute
Andrew R. Curtis OBE is an independent defence and security researcher specialising in national strategy, defence policy and plans, and military logistics. He is an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. He completed 35 years’ service in the Royal Air Force, retiring in 2019 as an air commodore, and has a PhD in defence studies from King’s College London.
1. Introduction
2. Strategic Direction and Military Capability
3. The UK’s Approach to Strategy
4. Defence Roles, Missions and Tasks
5. Defence Reviews
6. The Affordability of Defence
7. The MoD and the Single Services
8. Why does the UK have the Military Capability That It Has?
