The British Army is only strong enough to ‘seize a small market town on a good day,’ a former army general has warned.
General Sir Richard Barrons, a retired army boss who co-authored a defence review last year, suggested that the current British armed forces would fail to do anything ‘substantial’ due to its size.
“The Armed Forces that we have now, because of their size, but also because of their sophistication, can make a very small contribution on land, in the air and at sea, to an enterprise either led by the US or more likely a Nato undertaking,” he said.
“What it cannot do is anything substantial.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he added: “Today's army frankly could do one very small thing, essentially it could seize a small market town on a good day.”
The remarks paint an alarming picture of the British military at a time of heightened tensions around the world and continued fighting in Ukraine, the Middle East, and beyond.
The retired military commander went on to add that the UK has pledged up to 50,000 strategic reserve troops as part of the Nato alliance, but “the army has not got the equipment or the training or the support to get anywhere close to delivering that yet”.
Earlier this week, Keir Starmer said he was yet to “put the funding in place” in order to move the country toward a “war footing” yet maintained that he was “finalising” the government’s defence investment plans.
Starmer said at the time that he was unable to confirm a date for when the plan would be released, despite being initially scheduled to be published in the autumn of last year.
“We’re finalising it, we’ve absolutely got to get it right and I want to ensure that anything relevant from this conflict [in Iran] is included within it,” he said at the time.
Over the past few years, there have been several warnings from among military ranks about the effectiveness of British troops.
In 2025, Lord Richard Dannatt, former head of the British Army, said the British Army was so small it could not maintain a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine for long.
It’s understood that there has been a long-term decline in military numbers across UK forces, with recruitment often falling short.
Elsewhere, however, Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, said Britain’s “sons and daughters” should be “ready to fight”, urging the entire society to prepare against regional aggression.
In late 2025, a new scheme was announced to entice young people to join the armed forces. The gap year scheme, reportedly due to be rolled out from this month, would “give Britain’s young people a taste of the incredible skills and training on offer across the Army, Royal Navy and RAF”.
