'Third nuclear age' threatens the West, armed forces chief warns
BBCThe world is at the dawn of a "third nuclear age" in which Britain is threatened by multiple foes including Russia, the head of the armed forces warned.
iral Sir Tony Radakin said "wild threats of tactical nuclear use" by Russia, China's nuclear build-up, Iran's failure to co-operate with a nuclear deal, and North Korea's "erratic behaviour" were among the threats facing the West.
He emphasised the need for more defence funding and reform in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) defence think tank on Wednesday.
Despite the warnings, iral Radakin said there was only a "remote chance" Russia would directly attack or invade the UK if the two countries were at war.
iral Radakin added that Russian President Vladimir Putin is aware of the UK's nuclear arsenal and said it has more impact on him than other threats.
Successive British governments had invested "substantial sums of money" in renewing nuclear submarines and warheads because of this, he said.
He said it was necessary to keep the UK's nuclear deterrent strong, describing the first nuclear age as the Cold War and the second characterised by disarmament efforts and "counter proliferation".
"We are at the dawn of a third nuclear age, which is altogether more complex," he said.
This era is more dangerous than any he has known in his career and the world more contested than ever, he added.
Reiterating a pledge to raise defence spending, he argued that "the cost of defence and deterrence is always less than the costs that flow from instability and conflict".
The government has committed to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, but has refused to say when it will meet this target.
Spending more on defence would be politically controversial because it would mean less for other public priorities such as health and education.
Any increase on the 2.5% target – which many analysts believe will be necessary and the US may even demand – would require popular .
To do that, iral Radakin said he wants to give voters a sense of what he calls "the tragedy of war" without having to experience it - by warning about the scale of the threat the UK is facing.
His warning is stark and designed, as he said, both "to reassure the nation and stiffen its resolve".
"Do we understand what is at stake? And are we sufficiently motivated to respond":[]}