QUOTE: Our potent new Joint Force 2025 doesn't just mean more planes, more ships and better-equipped special operations forces. It gives us two strike brigades able to take on multiple missions at short notice. And it upgrades our cyber and strategic communications capability to counter the extremist narrative with a faster truth.
QUOTE 2: Britain is not shying away, we're projecting our power.
QUOTE 3: In 2015, our brave service men and women have again been in action — defying Russian aggression in the Baltic and confronting ISIL in Iraq. They've been participating in 21 operations in 19 countries. Now we're making the case to beat back the terrorists in their Syrian strongholds.
2015 has been a tough year. It began with the appalling attack on Charlie Hebdo and ended with the worst attacks in Paris since World War II. Many more innocent people lost their lives to terror — on a Tunisian beach, on a Russian airliner and in a Malian hotel.
Besides the curse of ISIL the Islamic State group (ISIL), we've seen a resurgent Russia undermine Ukrainian sovereignty and mass migration spilling into the Mediterranean. The diversity, complexity and concurrence of these events has been unprecedented, - placing strain on our international-rules-based system.
The UK is responding with bigger, stronger defencse. As a new government, we were elected to deliver economic security and national security. So we've chosen to increase our defensce budget year-on-year. We've upped our planned equipment spend by £12 billion (US $18 billion) to £178 billion ($268 billion). And our new Strategic Defensce and Security Review provides a more assertive blueprint for action in the years ahead.
First, it gives us greater flexibility to deal with the unexpected. Our potent new Joint Force 2025 doesn't just mean more planes, more ships and better-equipped Sspecial operations fForces. It gives us two strike brigades able to take on multiple missions at short notice. And it upgrades our cyber and strategic communications capability to counter the extremist narrative with a faster truth.
Second, it nails our colours to the innovation mast with a significant investment in innovation over the next decade. The US Ooffset strategy recognizses fifth-generation technology, weapons proliferation and cheap tech threaten the West's leading edge. We're investing in big data, robotics, and miniaturizsation to keep ahead of the curve. Back in October, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter and I challenged our brightest brains to do more to develop game-changing disruptive technology.
Thirdly, we're becoming international- by- design — working with allies and partners to deliver our national security goals and tackle global threats. NATO remains the cornerstone of our defencse. We're committing to NATO's 2 percent target [of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense] and leading its new high-readiness spearhead force in 2017. Bilateral partnerships are critical too, and our special relationship with the US remains preeminent. Our recent investments in F-35, carriers, maritime patrol aircraft and our deterrent — areas of shared interest — offer further reason to tighten our ties.
So Britain is not shying away, we're projecting our power.
In 2015, our brave service men and women have again been in action — defying Russian aggression in the Baltic and confronting ISIL in Iraq. They've been participating in 21 operations in 19 countries. Now we're making the case to beat back the terrorists in their Syrian strongholds. UN Security Council Resolution 2249 called on states to take "all necessary measures" to prevent and suppress ISIL's terrorist activities. Seventy years on from Vvictory in Europe, the terror threat has changed but we're still standing together in solidarity.
In 2016, I'll be focused on delivering our SDSR plans. I'll also be preparing for July's NATO Warsaw Ssummit, where our focus is: delivering the military capability and investment agreed at the last summit in Wales; establishing a 21st century deterrence posture; and driving further adaptation to tackle threats from East and South. Above all I'll be making sure we do everything in our power to protect our people and our way of life. The message is clear.: Britain is back.
Fallon is UK secretary of state for defense.
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