19 Nov 25. Amid a “new era” of threat, is the UK a weak link in Nato?
A damning report by the UK Defence Committee has revealed a worrying perception among key allies.
* The UK is increasingly thought of as a non-peer ally as its armed forces are hollowed out by successive governments
* A UK Defence Committee report says the UK is failing to deliver on aspects of its obligations to Nato
* The UK military is particularly weak in land domain operations and integrated air defence of the homeland
On the same day as the UK Secretary of State for Defence warned of a “new era of threat” amid a reshaped world order, a damning UK Parliamentary Defence Committee publication said the UK was failing in its obligations to Nato and European security. Both made public on 19 November 2025, the parliamentary report cast a shadow over the speech by John Healey, UK Defence Secretary, who said that the upcoming winter budget, widely expected to see tax rises and cost cuts across Whitehall, would “ensure no return to the hollowed out and underfunded” military of the past. The UK government has recommitted itself to increasing defence spending, although analysis from Army Technology revealed some of the fiscal gymnastics that will be required to reach such targets. The reference to “hollowed out” military capabilities is notable, given the UK government had divested itself of the British Army’s entire 155mm artillery force without public knowledge, until the story was broken by Army Technology. This leaves the service, at 155mm capabilities or greater, with a meagre 14 Archer artillery systems until the eventual arrival of the planned RCH 155, likely around 2030. It is to be hoped that long-range indirect artillery fires are not needed in scale over the next five years, at least.
Committee lays bare UK failures to Nato
Further concerns were also raised in the 19 November parliamentary report, which warned that the UK was failing to live up to its Nato commitments and would not be able to deploy in depth and sustain itself at length.
“We were concerned to hear that the UK’s lack of mass is denuding its leadership in NATO”, the committee report stated, adding that the “lack of resourcing dedicated to the UK meeting its Article 3 commitments is a further failure of leadership.”
US officials in Nato have long held concerns over the UK’s ability to operate as a viable partner, with the committee reporting evidence that heard one US official no longer consider the UK to be a Tier 1 military force. The lack of a Defence Investment Plan, already significantly delayed, was further hampering efforts to understand UK military procurement priorities, the committee warned. It is unarguable that should the UK find itself embroiled in a conflict similar to that faced by Ukraine, the country would be unable to defend itself against modern threats. The UK lacks a layered air defence system to defend sites of critical national infrastructure, while the recent incursion by activists into a key RAF base highlighted apparent ease of access to UK military sites.
In addition, the UK is entirely incapable of engaging in full spectrum ballistic and hypersonic missile defence, capabilities that are defeating Ukraine’s extensive network that includes Patriot air defence systems.
“The lack of clarity about the Government’s approach to integrated air and missile defence, given the absence of European IAMD capability, is an area of critical importance that requires urgent action,” the committee warned.
The British Army meanwhile is a shadow of its former self, lacking sufficient numbers of armoured vehicles, ammunition, and modern capabilities like FPV drones to operate in the modern battlespace.
According to analysis conducted by Army Technology, any UK contribution to peacekeeping in Ukraine – in the eventuality that the conflict can be halted – would be minimal and around the same scale as its mission to Kosovo, in what is indicative of the UK’s inability to operate in depth and at scale.
Similarly, the Royal Navy and associated Royal Fleet Auxiliary have been in decline for decades, with available surface escorts down to single figures amid a shrinking fleet and sustainment problems. The less said about nuclear submarine ambition, the better.
Is the UK a weak link in Nato?
With the UK’s military capability, from leadership to logistics, C4ISR to combat operations, increasingly being called into question by allies, academics, and observers, it is possible that enemies infer a weakness that needs to be exploited, in a timeframe that London is simply incapable of operating within.
As friends and adversaries come to the same conclusion – that the UK’s is no longer a Tier 1 military entity – national notions of defence renewal appear fanciful. (Source: army-technology.com)
19 Nov 25. JCNSS Chair responds to reports of Russian spy ship near UK waters. The Chair of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, Matt Western MP, has responded to reports that the Russian spy ship Yantar is currently on the edge of UK waters.
The Chair said: “Today’s news demonstrates once again that Russia presents a genuine and immediate threat to the UK’s security. Earlier this year, my Committee highlighted the vulnerability of Britain’s underwater infrastructure and concluded that the UK needed to be more muscular in tackling Russian aggression. I welcome the seriousness with which the Defence Secretary is treating this issue, but there is more we can do. More assertive retaliation may be required.”
17 Nov 25. Report publication: The UK contribution to European security. Defence Committee: questions raised about UK’s fundamental ability to defend itself. In a report published today, the Defence Committee sounds the alarm over the UK’s ability to defend its homeland and Overseas Territories, finding that we may be failing to meet our NATO Article 3 obligations to maintain and develop individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack. While the UK remains a leading European military power, its ability to sustain that leadership is under pressure. In particular, the report finds that the UK and its European NATO allies have failed to invest in critical capabilities and remain over-reliant on the US. The report calls for the UK to urgently strengthen its conventional and nuclear capabilities, improve interoperability with Allies, strengthen its defence industrial base and ensure it can defend the UK homeland and overseas territories.
Chair of the Defence Committee, Tan Dhesi MP, said: ?Putin?s brutal invasion of Ukraine, unrelenting disinformation campaigns, and repeated incursions into European airspace mean that we cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand. Our report, published today, calls on the UK to lead the European response to Russian aggression and do all in its power to hold the NATO Alliance together. Despite clear, consistent signals from successive US presidents that European allies needed to step up, Europe has continued to bank on protection from the US and under-invest in its own defence. We are therefore calling on the Government to assess where the UK can replace US capabilities in the event of them being withdrawn. Accelerating the speed of industrial change is essential, and readiness must be at the top of this Government’s agenda. We have repeatedly heard concerns about the UK’s ability to defend itself from attack. Government must be willing to grasp the nettle and prioritise homeland defence and resilience. In achieving this, Government cannot shy away from direct engagement with the public. Wars aren’t won just by generals, but by the whole of the population getting behind the Armed Forces and playing our part. There needs to be a co-ordinated effort to communicate with the public on the level of threat we face and what to expect in the event of conflict. This was the first inquiry we launched as a Committee, because of its absolute importance to our country’s future. This report should be a wake-up call for the Ministry of Defence: as a nation we need to move much faster, and go much further.?
Over-reliance on the US
Today’s report urges the UK Government to assess where the UK can lead in terms of replacing US capabilities in the event of them being withdrawn. It calls on the Government to ensure that it expends every effort to hold the NATO Alliance together.
Closer working with European counterparts
The Committee calls on the UK Government to engage the EU and European partners, particularly France, on the threat posed by Russia and the countries that enable it. The UK’s security and defence partnership with the EU is a welcome recognition of the importance of both parties to the defence of Europe. The report finds that the UK’s defence industrial base is not yet configured for sustained collective defence. It faces challenges in capacity, skills, innovation, procurement, and financing.
UK failure to defend the homeland
The Committee questions UK Defence’s ability to protect the UK and the Overseas Territories from crisis or conflict and fulfil its Article 3 responsibilities. The Government seems to be moving at glacial pace today’s report expresses deep concern at reports that the work on the Home Defence Programme is still ongoing, a year after it was originally due to be complete. The report finds that cross-government working on homeland defence and resilience is nowhere near where it needs to be. It concludes that despite the Government repeatedly saying that we are in an era of new threat, decision-making is slow and opaque. Today?s report is critical of the Cabinet Office’s leadership in this area, saying that it appears inward focused. The Committee urges Government to produce a public timetable on the generation of the Home Defence Programme and reiterates its call for the Government to create a Minister of Homeland Security, with responsibility for the Home Defence Programme, the Resilience Action Plan and a public engagement strategy. While the report welcomes the proposal for a Defence Readiness Bill, it highlights that the Government has not yet determined what specific measures it wishes to include in the Bill, let alone written it. The Committee calls on the Government to introduce the legislation as soon as possible, setting out key milestones and its approach to pre-legislative scrutiny and public and parliamentary engagement.
Engaging the public in defence
The public need to understand not only the necessity of defence but also their role in it, the report finds. The report is supportive of the Strategic Defence Review suggestions for a national conversation through the use of regular public briefings on attacks against the UK, including on sabotage, and cyber-attacks, but questions why there has seemingly been no Government progress on enabling this.
14 Nov 25. AUKUS Special Representative to appear before Defence Committee.
Evidence Session: AUKUS
Wednesday 19 November 2025, 10.00, Committee Room 16
Watch on parliamentlive.tv
The Defence Committee will hear from Sir Stephen Lovegrove, Special Representative on AUKUS, as it holds the third session of its inquiry into AUKUS at 10.00am on Wednesday 19th November.
Sir Stephen Lovegrove, who carried out a review of AUKUS in 2024 and has since been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on AUKUS will appear before MPs who are likely to explore how his role influences decisions taken in Whitehall.
The Committee may also ask what more could be done to promote greater awareness of and engagement with the work of AUKUS across Parliament and the public. MPs are also likely to explore concerns about the perceived lack of progress on Pillar 2 of the programme and its potential reputational consequences.
Questions on the introduction of an ?AUKUS visa? to help streamline processes and address workforce issues across the trilateral could also be discussed.
The critical role the town of Barrow-in-Furness will play in the success of the programme will likely be explored.
Wednesday 19 November, 10.00am:
Sir Stephen Lovegrove, Prime Minister’s Special Representative on AUKUS