
Posted December 02, 2017 04:13:46As the US battles to defeat ISIS in Iraq, the UK is looking to build up its defence forces to help defend against the group’s attacks.
As reported earlier, the government will spend £5 billion on new aircraft, submarines, land-based missiles, drones and fighter jets to bolster its military capabilities.
It is estimated the UK will spend around £10 billion on these and other equipment.
This is expected to be supplemented by an additional £500 million for a “war room” to coordinate the war effort.
The UK will also get £2 billion in extra military assistance to fight ISIS in the Middle East and Europe.
The country will receive £10 million in military support to the US in the form of a new Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C) radar system and an upgrade to its nuclear deterrent.
As for the war, the Ministry of Defence is set to spend around 1.8 billion on “operational readiness” over the next six years.
The war room will be headed by Sir Andrew Wood, a former head of MI5 and former director of the UK’s Special Operations Command.
Wood is the UK government’s “war czar” and is in charge of the war’s strategy.
The Ministry of Defense has been under pressure in recent months to spend more money on the warfighting efforts, with the Brexit vote last month prompting Prime Minister Theresa May to order a review of the current strategy.
Wood has previously described the UK as a “global leader” in air power, and is now tasked with coordinating all aspects of the government’s air power campaign.