UK forces to share weapons with NATO members

The UK has agreed to share billions of pounds of military equipment with the 27 other NATO member states, potentially leaving Britain without the ability to fight its own wars, a report says.

The report published by The Mail on Sunday said Britain has signed up to the NATO scheme titled Lead Nation Procurement Initiative, in which heavy weapons, aircraft and ships will be shared between the alliance’s members in a bid to promote cooperation and save money.

The program is planned to run as a two-year trial and will be headed by a branch of the US military named the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

British defense chiefs confirmed that that the UK has joined the scheme launched earlier this month permitting “flexible sharing” of military equipment between members. However the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and NATO both declined to reveal details about what military equipment Britain will share.

According to experts, the UK could in the near future agree to allow the Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia use its top-secret Skynet 5 military satellite system.

The report also said that the 28-member states will share tanks, rockets and heavy artillery, of which most will be produced in the US and sold to European states. The purchasing nations will then agree to share the military equipment with their neighbors.

John Walker, a former UK chief of defense intelligence, criticized Britain’s participation in the NATO scheme, saying Britain risks compromising its security with the scheme.

“If we intend to act alone, Britain simply has to have its own kit. Lending and borrowing on the scale being envisaged here isn't wise in the long term,” said Walker.

NATO expansion in Eastern Europe

The initiative comes as NATO is planning to expand its military presence in Eastern Europe amid the Ukraine crisis.

The defense ministers of NATO’s 28 member states agreed on February 5 to establish six new command and control posts in the Eastern European nations of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.

The military alliance has over the past year increased its presence and conducted several exercises in Eastern Europe amid the crisis in Ukraine. In 2014, NATO forces held some 200 military exercises and the alliance’s General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg has promised that such drills would continue.

Moscow has repeatedly condemned NATO’s exercises and military buildup toward its borders. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said NATO’s move provokes confrontation and undermines European security.

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