表面安静如水、暗藏问题无数, 英国航空航天公司

Release Date: 2009-12-15

A|D|S, the UK's AeroSpace, Defence and Security trade organisation today (Tuesday) commented on the Secretary of State for Defence, Bob Ainsworth's MP, statement on the defence budget, pointing out that stop gap measures without consideration for their future repercussions will damage both the armed forces future capabilities and industry's ability to supply their needs

Commenting on the Government's decision to provide more vital front line services for the armed forces in Afghanistan, A|D|S expresses its concern that the rebalancing within the UK's defence capabilities to achieve this will create future problems for the armed forces and the industry which supplies them, highlighting the urgent need for a Strategic Defence Review and a refreshed Defence Industrial Strategy that will give direction to the UK's needs in defence.

The UK defence budget has been reduced from 4.4 per cent GDP to 2.3 per cent GDP, nearly halving over the past two decades, despite the UK being on a war footing since 2001, while the armed forces have been operating beyond the Government's planning assumptions.

Ian Godden, Chairman of A|D|S, said:

“It is a sad day for this country when the helicopters requested so long ago are finally announced late in the day almost as an after thought.

“More helicopters for our troops in Afghanistan are of course welcome – but as ever, we have to question at what cost will this have to the armed force's future capability? So often in the past we have seen programmes accelerated to provide vital services at the detriment to other programmes causing greater costs and loss of services, and there is a very real fear that this will result in the same. Today's announcement is like painting over the damp patches in your house, giving a superficial fix to a far deeper problem that will only re-emerge later and in a far worse condition.

“If anything, today's statement highlights the urgent need for a Strategic Defence Review and refreshed Defence Industrial Strategy which makes future decisions about Britain's foreign policy and role in the world.”

Type:	NORMAL
Company:	英国航空航天公司
Country:	英国