The UK will be able to recall Strategic Reservists at nearly state pension age
You could be recalled to fight aged 65 (Image: Getty)
Former UK service personnel could be recalled to fight up until the age of 65 under new legislation being put in place by government.
The £298bn Defence Investment Plan published this week confirms that the Ministry of Defence’s “Strategic Reserve” comprising former service personnel, will be strengthened with an age rise which brings them within two years of state pension age, which is currently 66 rising to 67.
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The plan outlines: “The key changes include increasing the recall liability for personnel up to the age of 65 and lowering the threshold for recall so that Reservists can be recalled for ‘warlike preparations’ in addition to the current requirement for ‘national danger, great emergency, or attack on the UK’.
“This will allow us to mobilise talent rapidly when it matters most, strengthening our readiness and bolstering our resilience. We will also deliver a Defence Readiness Bill to go further later this Parliament.”
Under the plans, the government is also pumping more money into manufacturing munitions within the UK.
It adds: “The government has re-established onshore manufacturing of heavy barrel ordnance with a new factory in Telford and using UK steel from Sheffield Forgemasters. These revived facilities are already delivering artillery to Ukraine and will provide the barrels for the Army’s new RCH155 artillery howitzers.”
And the plan will put more money into new fighter jets to replace the Red Arrows’ “ageing” aircraft: “We will have new jets for a modernised fast-jet training system which will also allow the Red Arrows to replace the ageing Hawk aircraft, inspiring young generations for decades to come, part of a new Jet Training System, with a significant UK workshare.”
On aerospace, the plan adds: “Over £1.1bn of new investment to upgrade and sustain the Typhoon force into the 2040s. We will also buy additional F-35s, benefitting from the substantial UK workshare they bring. We will develop Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs) to fly alongside our 4th and 5th generation fighters, backed by £300m of investment. In combination, this establishes our pathway to GCAP, where we will spend £8.6bn to drive the RAF towards becoming Europe’s first 6th Generation Air Force.”
Dan Jarvis is the new Defence Secretary (Image: Getty)
Introducing the plan, the Secretary of State Dan Jarvis pointed to planning for “the next war”. He said: “But increased spending is only half the story. We have made tough choices, to stop doing things which were designed for another age, and invest in capabilities fit for the next war, not the last one. The DIP will energise the transformation of our Armed Forces to rebuild warfighting readiness and target our resources to reflect the way war is waged today. Artificial intelligence, autonomy and uncrewed systems are no longer capabilities of the future and these technologies will now receive the investment they need in the coming years to reflect their growing maturity and their strategic importance.”
Mr Jarvis went on to add that closer ties with Germany and the Netherlands will form part of the plan, while “British workers” will build “sovereign technologies in the UK”.
He added: “If we fight together then we should build together. We will accelerate deep precision strike weapons and close support artillery with Germany, and we will seek to create a new amphibious combined fleet with the Netherlands. We are also inviting more Joint Expeditionary Force nations to join our “Northern Navies” initiative, to build our hybrid capabilities together.
“Our Defence Investment Plan will back British workers, businesses and innovation. It will secure the sovereign technologies the UK needs for the future: AI, autonomy, and quantum – all built by the finest minds from Britain’s research and development base.”