65-year-old military veterans are being mobilized under new powers to prepare the armed forces for war.
The government is going to increase the age of retired soldiers of the nation known as strategic reserve from 55 to 65 years.
The new measures have been introduced as part of the new Armed Forces Bill, which will be published in Parliament later.
The changes will make it easier to mobilize tens of thousands of former military personnel.
The army has shrunk to its smallest number in more than 200 years, with just 70,000 full-time, fully-trained troops ready to deploy to the frontline.
According to existing rules, the pool of retired soldiers can be called upon in the event of a “national threat, major emergency or attack on the UK”.
However, under the new changes, this will be reduced to “combat readiness”, the threshold for reservists who have already left the armed forces.
The measures come amid fears Britain could be drawn into full-scale war with Russia within a few years.
Defense and security chiefs have repeatedly warned of the possibility of a full-scale war in recent months.
Armed Forces Minister Al Carnes said just before Christmas that war was “already knocking on Europe’s door” and Britain must prepare for “bigger” conflicts than those fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last week, Britain announced it would deploy troops to Ukraine alongside France if a ceasefire deal is agreed between Moscow and Kiev.
Although it is unclear how many troops may be involved, reports have suggested that up to 7,500 UK personnel could be deployed.
If this figure is correct, it effectively means that around 21,000 personnel will be committed to Ukraine – with one group deployed, another in training and a third recovering there for operations.
However, military analysts have warned that such a deployment would expand the armed forces and effectively constitute “military efforts” to maintain.
Defense Ministry sources have pushed back against suggestions that 7,500 troops could be deployed, with insiders saying it could be lower.
A £28 billion funding black hole
On Friday, the government pledged £200m to upgrade armored vehicles and buy new kit in preparation for peacekeeping missions.
The proposed changes will come into effect next year if approved by parliament, the BBC reported.
The government estimates there are around 95,000 men within the strategic reserve, including veterans of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF.
These are different from the reserve forces, which consist of personnel who volunteer part-time to serve in the army. At present, around 32,000 personnel are reserved across the three ranks of the armed forces.
The military has struggled to recruit and retain personnel in recent years. The military has suffered the most, shrinking from more than 100,000 personnel in 2010 to more than 70,000 now.
Recent statistics show a very modest increase in the number of people joining the military. But it is still at its lowest ebb since the Napoleonic Wars.
Meanwhile, the armed forces are grappling with a £28 billion funding black hole over the next four years despite plans to increase defense spending.
The head of the army, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, warned Sir Keir Starr about the shortage just days before Christmas.
On Monday, Sir Richard admitted that Britain does not have the cash to deliver on its military ambitions, which were set out by the prime minister in June as part of a strategic defense review.
The chief of defense staff told MPs on the Commons defense committee: “I’ll be perfectly honest with you – we’re not going to be able to do everything we want to do as quickly as we want to.
“If we want to do everything in the program and do all the extra stuff in SDR [strategic defence review]Can we do that with the budget we have? The answer is no.”
Britain is not prepared to defend itself
This is despite Sir Keir announcing last year that defense spending would rise from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.6 per cent by 2027. A weak promise was also made in the Strategic Defense Review to reach 3 percent in the early 2030s and 3.5 percent by 2035.
As part of the Strategic Defense Review, Sir Keir pledged to build 12 new nuclear attack submarines and spend billions more on new defense technology.
Britain’s military spending has come under increasing criticism, with a parliamentary report last year warning that the country is ill-prepared to defend itself against attack.
Earlier this month, the UK slipped down the ranks of global defense spending, and is now NATO’s 12th biggest spender in terms of GDP, compared to third in 2021.
News of the latest shortfall is said to have prompted Sir Keir to order revisions to a key MoD document, the Defense Investment Plan.
The Defense Investment Plan, which will set out how to pay for the government’s long-term defense plans, was originally due to be published in the autumn. However, it now appears to be stuck in financial purgatory, with Sir Richard telling MPs the MoD has “no date” as to when it will be released.
This raised concerns that the armed forces may soon be forced to make sweeping cuts to balance the books.
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