Amid the broader Western militarization over a perceived Russian threat – claims repeatedly dismissed by Moscow as “nonsense” – the UK rolled out its new SDR last November, outlining a shift to “warfighting readiness” by 2035. The plan calls for raising defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, and, among other things, revitalizing the strategic reserve.
An armed forces bill is now being prepared to implement the reforms, including raising the recall age from 55 to 65 and expanding call-up criteria to cover “warlike operations,” not just direct attacks or emergencies.
However, speaking at a lecture in Salisbury this week, Robertson said that the government does not have valid contact or health data for most of its roughly 95,000 “high-readiness” reservists.
“What the review talks about is having the strategic reserve… But the Ministry of Defense at the present moment doesn’t even know where most of them are,” he said, as cited by The Guardian. “So we need to sort of round up those who are available and fit and willing to be able to do it.”
The British Army is already at its smallest size in more than two centuries, with fewer than 70,000 fully trained personnel ready for frontline deployment, alongside an active reserve of around 32,000.