Putin could wipe out Britan's tanks in just two weeks at start of WW3
The former Lieutenant Colonel's comments come as Britain's armed forces continue to shrink to much lower levels.
A senior ex-colonel of the British Army has warned that Vladimir Putin could wipe out Britain’s tank force in just two weeks in the event of World War Three.
Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Crawford warned Britain could be left vulnerable because of how under-equipped its forces are.
Speaking to the Telegraph, he claimed that the UK was no longer seen as a Tier One military power by allies such as the USA.
Speaking about the latest Challenger 3 tanks being developed, he said that the procurement of 148 of them was “embarrassingly few” as fears about the outbreak of WW3 grow across Europe.
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The dire situation of Britain’s tank forces and how well they might fare against Russia’s much larger forces was further highlighted by Lt Col Crawford in the UK Defence Journal.
He wrote: “148 MBTs might last about a fortnight in intensive combat if we’re lucky, and after that there will be no replacements.
“If there’s one lesson to come out of the current conflict in Ukraine it’s that you need lots of stuff, to use the correct technical term, and clearly 148 tanks ain’t going to cut it.”
Furthermore, he added that while the Challenger 3 had upgraded armour it appeared to have “precious little to counter the drone threat despite what we have witnessed in Ukraine and elsewhere”.
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Mr Crawford’s fears about the state of Britain’s armed forces have been echoed by other experts who have expressed concern about the country’s lack of troops and equipment.
RAND Europe’s Linda Slapakova said low troop numbers had left the British Army in a “worrying” position as figures showed the number of personnel had fallen below 73,000.
She told the Express: “The decrease of Army personnel numbers is worrying. “It is clear that the Armed Forces, including the Army, have a long way to go before recruitment and retention challenges are addressed, building on the findings of the Haythornthwaite Review.
“I don’t think we can clearly say whether the number of personnel is sufficient for the Army to be operationally effective (it depends on what scenarios we’re thinking about), but it is widely recognised that low recruitment and retention present risks for operational and strategic effectiveness.”
The Haythornthwaite Review, published last year, was commissioned to examine ways to attract and retain personnel to 2035 and beyond.
