Battle Lab
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UK Defence Secretary says Ukraine is a battle lab for testing NATO weapons as captured Russian tanks are sent to London for examination
The UK is learning from Ukraine in order to improve its own armed forces, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said, as he presented an updated national military strategy document to Parliament.
Ukraine has “tragically become a battle lab” for military technology, Wallace, who intends to step down during the next cabinet reshuffle, told MPs on Tuesday.
He was presenting to fellow lawmakers the new version of the Defence Command Paper, first published in 2021.
“In this refresh we are focused on how to drive the lessons of Ukraine into our core business,” Wallace added. The British military is “enabling a culture of innovation,” he claimed, explaining one of the four key modernization directions outlined by his department.
Ukrainian soldier of the 35th Brigade next to a destroyed Russian tank. © Diego Herrera Carcedo / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
“Following Ukraine’s footsteps, we are increasing the sourcing of those £100 solutions that can stop 100 million [pound] threats in their tracks, winning both the kinetic and economic exchange of modern warfare,” Wallace stated.
The plan also seeks increased investment in military personnel, closer cooperation with the defense industry, and a boost in productivity within the department.
Senior Ukrainian officials, including Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov, have touted their nation as a natural testing ground for Western-made weapons.“We are interested in testing modern systems in the fight against [Russia] and we are inviting the arms manufacturers to test their new products here,” the Ukrainian minister told the pro-NATO Atlantic Council lobby group last month. “Give us the tools, we will finish the job and you will have new information.”
Ukraine is already handing over some captured and destroyed Russian tanks to the UK, where the armoured vehicles are being meticulously studied by experts, a top British military commander has said, according to an article in The Telegraph on Tuesday.
The outlet quoted the Chief of the British Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin as saying that “we have the scientists that unpick the detail that another nation might have to a really forensic level.”
The study of Russian tanks conducted at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in Porton Down aims to answer a variety of questions such as, “how does their equipment work, how can we defeat it, how can we have even better armour, how can we disrupt their communications, how can we ensure that we can penetrate their defences?” the official explained.
Radakin added that London is willing to share its findings with allies, suggesting that Moscow “might be a danger to us in the future.”
Wallace was also quoted by The Telegraph as saying that he was not going to reverse the trend which has seen the British military dwindle to an unprecedentedly low personnel level in recent years. Wallace announced his upcoming departure from the office last week, but insisted that London would instead funnel more money into high-tech weapons.
T-90M ‘Proryv’ main battle tank
Meanwhile, speaking to the Russian media on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed that experts were also studying captured Western weapons, hinting that some of their findings could be used in “reverse engineering.”
“If there is an opportunity to look inside and see if there is something that we can apply, then why not?” the Russian head of state asserted.
Putin hastened to add, however, that Russia’s T-90 main battle tank is the “best in the world, without any exaggeration.”
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian military has lost 3,000 units of heavy military equipment since it launched its counteroffensive in early June. Putin stated last week that approximately 300 Western-made armored vehicles are among the destroyed Ukrainian hardware.
Last month, Forbes described the Ukrainian counteroffensive as “disastrous,” with The New York Times reporting last week that Kiev had lost 20% of the equipment it sent into battle during the early stages of the operation.
Source Telegraph/AFP/TASS/RT
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