Labour has announced swingeing cuts to the UK’s defence capabilities even as Britain is being dragged closer into direct conflict with Russia.

In a shocking move which sent alarming signals to the Kremlin, 31 frontline helicopters and a pair of Commando assault ships were axed.

While despite the domination of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield, the UK is to lose a staggering 46 Watchkeeper Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

A Royal Navy frigate and a pair of ‘fast fleet tankers’, which provide fuel for aircraft carriers, are also being chopped as part of the jaw-dropping plans.

The decision by Defence Secretary John Healey was met by shock and fury today.

Sources said the cuts delivered entirely the wrong message to Britain’s enemies and allies such as the United States.

The timing was also challenged as it coincides with the US ramping up its support for Ukraine – and as other NATO members are boosting their military capabilities.

One senior naval figure remarked: ‘Try telling Donald Trump these helicopters and ships were getting old and were costing more to repair, he’ll only hear that Britain is making cuts’.

Landing ship HMS Bulwark, which was meant to be retired in 2034, will now be scrapped at the end of the year

Labour Defence Secretary John Healey announced the staggering cuts in Parliament today 

Announcing the cuts in Parliament this afternoon, Mr Healey told MPs: ‘I recogonise that these will mean a lot to mean who have sailed and flown in them during their deployment around the world, but their work is done we must look now to the future.

‘We’re in a new era of rising global tensions, we need a new era for UK defence. To achieve this, the Government is investing £3bn extra next year and setting a clear path to 2.5 per cent, driving far-reaching reform, fixing the foundations for our armed forces to make Britain better defended, strong at home, secure abroad.’

Mr Healey said insisted the savings will fund the development of more advanced equipment – and will not be seized by the Treasury.

He also unveiled plans to address recruitment and retention issues – including incentives for troops to extend their service in areas such as aircraft engineering.

Healey told the House the cuts were required due to ‘dire inheritance’ of the Labour government following the General Election.

He said: ‘Today, with the full backing of our service chiefs I can confirm that six outdated capabilities will be taken out of service.

‘These decisions are set to save the Ministry of Defence £150 million in pounds over two years and up to £500 million over five years. Savings that will be retained, in full, in defence.

‘HMS Northumberland’s structural damage made her uneconomical to repair. The 46 Watchkeeper Mk 1s, a 14-year-old Army drone which technology had overtaken.

A total of 14 of the oldest Chinook helicopters, some more than 35 years old, will be axed 

The UK is set to axe 46 of Watchkeeper drones – a 14-year-old army drone – amid fears they are now obsolete given rapid developments in drone tech seen in Ukraine  

A pair of naval ‘fast fleet tankers’, which provide fuel for aircraft carriers, are also being chopped as part of the jaw-dropping plans. Pictured is one of those tankers, RFA Wave Knight

‘HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, landing ships both effectively retired by previous ministers but superficially kept on the books at a cost of £9 million a-year.

‘Fourteen Chinooks, some over 35-years-old, accelerated out of service, two ‘Wave Class’ tankers nobody had seen for years and 17 Puma helicopters, some with over 50 years’ flying, will not be extended.

‘Sadly, these will not be the last difficult decisions I am required to take.’

Britain has informed its allies of the changes which come early on in Labour’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) which will form the basis of its overall approach to defence policy.

Mr Healey confirmed no service personnel would be made redundant and insisted the retirement of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark would not affect the future of the Royal Marines.

Despite this reassurance there was little doubt today the withdrawal of these Landing Platform Docks would alter the role of the commandos.

As without these support ships, which could put ashore hundreds of amphibious troops and up to 30 all-terrain vehicles or six tanks, the Marines could not perform a large-scale landing operation.

Bulwark recently completed a £150million refit at Devenport docks – money which, in light of today’s announcement, would seem to have been entirely wasted. 

The ships also have helicopter landing pads and eight landing craft for commandos to storm a beachhead.

The Defence Secretary also said that 17 Puma helicopters would be retired from the end of March 2025, in a move defence sources fear will leave the UK’s aerial lift capabilities reduced

HMS Albion, another landing ship, will also be retired come the end of the year

According to the Royal Navy these ships ‘deliver the punch of the Royal Marines to land by sea or by air’ – begging the question today/yesterday how this can be achieved without Albion and Buwark.

As a senior Marine source told the Mail: ‘The loss of Albion and Bulwark will fundamentally change the role of the Royal Marines, moving away from amphibious landings.

‘Instead they will be forced to operate as a small strike force, focusing on counter-terrorism operations and missions at sea. There could be no Falklands or D-Day-style operations without such ships.’

While Julian Lewis MP, said: ‘This is a black day for the Royal Marines. The purpose of Albion and Bulwark is to have the capability to make a landing across a foreshore. We have no way of knowing whether the absence of that capability might be an incentive for someone to try something like the Falklands in the future.’

Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge mocked Labour’s record on defence and its refusal to set a pathway to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on the UK’s Armed Forces.

He also denied that HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark had been ‘superficially’ maintained by the previous government for political purposes.

He told the House: ‘Those ships could have been regenerated to a condition able to fight and crews found. Permanently scrapping the landing ships means we move that capability entirely.

‘MRSS [Multi-Role Support Ships] are intended to fill the gap but these are at least eight to nine years away. And what will be the impact of the decisions on Chinooks and Puma?’

The Defence Secretary said HMS Albion and Bulwark had been ‘mothballed’ (pictured is HMS Albion)

Mr Healey told MPs, however, that both ships had been ‘mothballed’. ‘There were no plans for either of these ships to go back to sea for nearly 10 years until they were due to be taken out of service,’ the Defence Secretary said.

‘These were not ready to sail, these were not ready to fight – they are capabilities that can be covered elsewhere and this will save us every year money we can redeploy within defence to upgrading our forces and technologies for the future.’

There was little opposition to the retirement of Watchkeeper Mk1 drones. In Ukraine, new drones are being developed every few months while Watchkeeper was 15-years-old.

The technology aboard the platform was widely considered to be outdated while the UAV was unreliable in bad weather.

Attempts to modernise Watchkeeper Mk1, including 2,000 ‘additional system requirements’, had also significantly increased its weight, leading to crashes on military exercises.

Earlier this year, it emerged there were no Watchkeeper Mk1s being used on operations anywhere in the world.

The 14 Chinooks being retired, from a fleet of 51, will be replaced by more capable ‘Extended Range’ Chinooks in 2027. The retirement will also be staggered to reduce its impact on operations. 

Controversially, replacements for these reliable and versatile helicopters will not enter service until at least 2027.

Even though the withdrawal of the oldest Chinooks will be staggered, to minimise impact on operational capabilities, Britain’s armed forces will still lose some troop lifting capability for at least two years.

The MoD insisted the 17 Puma helicopters being retired from Cyprus and Brunei can be replaced by commercial helicopters at a considerable saving. 

Ageing frigate HMS Northumberland is due to be retired. It had been in refit when engineers found significant and costly structural damage to the vessel

Among the cuts announced include 14 of the oldest Chinook helicopters, which have been the backbone of military operations for decades 

Conservative MP Iain Duncan-Smith suggested the retirement of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark was premature, and would encourage the Treasury to demand further savings.

He said: ‘These ships still had life in them and could have been resurrected. Mothballing is what the Americans use all the time.

‘Could I please suggest to him [the Defence Secretary] he rethinks this process and says to the Treasury ‘back off now’.’

Predictably, serving top brass backed the moves, led by Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.

He said: ‘Accelerating the disposal of legacy equipment is the logical approach to focus on the transition to new capabilities that better reflect changing technology and tactics.

‘It also complements our taking some tough decisions to ease some of the current financial pressures.

While the head of the Army, General Sir Roly Walker said: ‘I’ve flown many missions in Chinook and Puma helicopters and will miss them. But warhorses must go out to pasture.

‘We have found faster, better and cheaper ways. Warfare is changing and we need to think and act differently.’

HMS Northumberland, a Type-23 frigate will be retired after a planned refit of the warship unearthed extensive structural damage.

The time and investment required to repair the vessel was considered uneconomical in today’s straitened financial environment.

As it was not at sea, or available for operations, the decision to retire her does not impact upon the Royal Navy’s current capability levels.

The 17 Puma helicopters being axed are currently based in Cyprus and Brunei (file image)

As the Mail has revealed, a paucity of frigates and destroyers have been available to set sail in recent months as so many require repairs – and dry dock space is so limited.

The Mail also exclusively revealed how earlier this year Britain did not have a single ‘attack’ submarine operational. This despite the increase in Russian subsurface naval operations in the North Sea.

Similarly the Wave-class tankers, RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler, which are used to replenish warships and aircraft carriers at sea, have not set sail for years.

Since then another class of tankers has been introduced, the Tide-class, as these will be used to support next year’s major Carrier Strike Group (CSG) operations in the Pacific.

However, the cuts provoked an immediate response from defence experts, who branded the news as the biggest series of defence cut backs since 2010’s swingeing Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR).

Former Royal Navy Commander and frigate captain Tom Sharpe feared how the cuts would be seen by US President-Elect Donald Trump. 

He told MailOnline: ‘What’s the plan?! Of course, the answer to that is ‘we’re conducting a review’ but then back to the first point – why now? Where are the signs that Labour are serious about shipbuilding and defence? 

‘To me though the big issue is ‘where is the quid pro quo?’. Culling old stuff is fine as long as it’s to make way for new stuff.’

Defence Secretary Mr Healey said no redundancies would be made as a result of the ‘common sense decisions’.

He said: ‘They have provided a valuable capability over the years, but their work is done. We must look now to the future. And all current personnel will be redeployed or re-trained. No one will be made redundant.’

He added: ‘Be in no doubt the future for our Royal Marines and their elite force will be reinforced in the SDR (strategic defence review).

‘These are common sense decisions which previous governments failed to take, decisions that will secure better value for money for the taxpayer and better outcomes for the military.

News of the cuts come after the 1,000th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was reached on Tuesday (pictured are members of the 24th Mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Force carrying out a fire mission)

A still image taken from a handout video provided today by the Russian Defence Ministry press-service showing combat work of a Russian Giatsint-b gun of the Russian Airborne Forces towards Ukrainian positions

‘Decisions which are all backed by the chiefs and taken in consultation with SDR reviewers. Allies have been informed, and we have constant dialogue with Nato.

‘These will not be the last difficult decisions I will have to make to fix the defence inheritance that we were left with, but they will help get a grip of finances now, and they will give greater scope to renew our forces for the future as we look towards the strategic defence review and to 2.5% (of GDP spent on defence).’

But the Conservatives said Labour will have to ‘own the consequences’ of its cuts to the Royal Navy.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge blamed Rachel Reeves for the plans, announced by Defence Secretary John Healey on Wednesday.

He said: ‘Whatever the Chancellor’s true grasp of economics, she’s certainly been able to force her priorities onto the country, getting the MoD to scrap major capabilities before they’ve undertaken the department’s much vaunted strategic defence review.

‘They’ve killed off North Sea oil, undermining our energy security; this week they are killing off the family farm and threatening our food security. Today they’re scrapping key defence capabilities and weakening our national security.

‘Labour have made their choices; they own the consequences.’

Mr Cartlidge said he had been assured former flagships HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion could have been made battleworthy in the event of a war.

He said: ‘I personally sought and received assurances from the Navy’s leadership… that in the event of a full-scale war fighting scenario where the priority for the navy was literal capability, those ships could have still been regenerated to a condition able to fight, and the crews found.’

He added: ‘Permanently scrapping the landing ships means we remove that capability entirely. So, what impact will this have on the operational effectiveness of the Royal Marines?

‘MRSS (multi-role support ship) is intended to fill the gap but will be at least eight to nine years away. Is he still committed to MRSS?’

The defence row came amid claims Ukraine had used British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles in Russia for the first time. 

Images being shared on social media show what appear to be fragments of a British Storm Shadow missile in Marino, Kursk

One image shows a written indentation on a chunk of metal reading: ‘Storm Shadow’

The unnamed official revealed 12 missiles were launched into the Kursk region on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported.

Unconfirmed images and footage posted to X/Twitter have shown residents in the village of Marino, Kursk, stumbling upon fragments of the missile.

One image shows a resident holding a thick chunk of broken metal in their hand, while another reveals a written indentation reading: ‘Storm Shadow’.

Britain’s Storm Shadow missiles are capable of dodging air defences – making them a nightmare attack weapon for their enemy.

Meanwhile news also emerged today that another Royal Navy warship, HMS Bristol, would be scrapped.

The Type 82 destroyer, which fought during the Falklands, had not been to sea for years and was a harbour training ship at Portsmouth Naval Base. 

It was decommissioned in October 2020. It’s thought she was sold off to a Turkish shipbreakers yard, reports The News in Portsmouth.

The MoD told the city paper: ‘As part of Defence’s commitment to sustainability and preserving the planet, HMS Bristol will be recycled after she departs Portsmouth next year.’