New defense review will be completed in ‘less than a year’, says defense secretary | Politics News

A major UK defense review will take place in “less than a year” and will tackle some difficult decisions, the new defense secretary has said.

John Healey said a top priority for him will be the hard but crucial work of reforming the workings of the Ministry of Defense and all its various branches – something that will take time and “won’t earn him any political bonus points”.

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Speaking on the sidelines the NATO summit in Washington on Wednesday he also signaled that helping NATO defend Europe from Russian aggression will be considered a higher priority than sending military ships, jets and soldiers on exercises to Asia.

A “tilt” toward the Asia-Pacific had, on the contrary, formed a central element in the thinking behind the last government’s defense review.

Sky News asked Healey how long it will take to carry out the Strategic Defense Review – which is expected to be formally launched next week.

“We will do it in less than a year. We will do it correctly. We will do it at an accelerated pace,” he said.

“We will do this so that we can face difficult decisions that need to be made early and so defense can become the basis for a mission-led government that is at the heart of the country’s security and the country’s economic growth and prosperity.”

He continued: “It also gives you an indication that it is not just a question of what we do – to what extent our forces are prepared to fight – but also of the deep reform that is needed in defense, which is certainly not one day, a week, one and even completed it in the first year of work.

“But for the first time, it will be one of the priorities for me as Secretary of Defense – that hard task of homeland defense reform that is essential but has no political bonus … but must be done.”

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On where to focus the UK’s military resources, the Defense Secretary has often said that the UK “promised to do everything everywhere”.

He added: “First, with a war in Europe, with broader Russian aggression and with our treaty commitments to NATO, this is where our first priority must lie and this is what will be at the heart of the strategic review. of defense.”