Defence Secretary warns that Russia’s military spending is dwarfing UK as Putin’s submarines step up Atlantic patrols
Sir Micheal Fallon made big hints that the UK should up the amount spent as it Russia continues to build up its capabilities
RUSSIA is spending DOUBLE the amount on defence that Britain is, Sir Micheal Fallon has warned.
The Defence Secretary justified a fresh spending review on the grounds of the "extraordinary increase" in Russian submarine activity that has been seen in the past few years.
Speaking today in Westminster, he told MPs that he would continue to fight for more money in the defence budget, but that it would be going up by 0.5 per cent annually.
He said that a number of threats from 2015 had got "markedly worse" including Russia, North Korean missiles, and cyber attacks on Britain.
Earlier this year the First Sea Lord said the Royal Navy was facing its greatest challenge from Russian subs and warships since the Cold War.
Russian submarines and spy ships have been monitored off the coast of Scotland, and the US, and this week Moscow began sea trials for its new "mothership" sub.
Sir Michael stressed today that Britain must "make sure we have our capabilities in the right place".
At the Tory party conference in Manchester last month, the Defence Secretary said Britain should spend MORE than the required 2 per cent to combat the increasing threats to the country.
He vowed that the Prime Minister was "100 per cent" behind him on the idea too.
Today he said the 2 per cent was a "minimum" and a "floor".
This year he said Britain was spending 2.14 per cent on its defences.
But he warned: "Defence spending is rising with our adversaries as well.
"Russia spends 4 per cent of GDP on defence, we should not ignore the international context.
"We do have a growing budget and on my watch it will continue to grow."
But in terms of the total amount spent, Britain is still dishing out more than Russia - with the Ministry of Defence set to spend £47billion for 2017/18.
How does Russia's military compare to Britain's?
Russia may be spending more in terms of GDP, but we actually spend more money overall.
Russia:
Population: 142m
Annual spending: $44billion
Manpower (active personnel): 798,000
Tanks: 20,216
Battleships: 3552
Aircraft: 3,794
Nukes: 8,000
Submaries: 63
Britain:
Population: 64million
Annual spending: $45.7billion (MoD figures actually put it higher for 2017/18 at $47bn)
Manpower (active personnel): 150,000
Tanks: 249
Battleships: 76
Aircraft: 856
Nukes: 225
Submaries: 11
*According to figures from Global Firepower
