Army risks running low on anti-tank weapons as it emerges Britain’s stockpile of missiles which were donated to Ukraine STILL have not been replaced

• Britain has sent about 7,000 anti-tank missiles to help in the defence of Ukraine 
• But there are fears the UK won’t be able to replenish its supplies of the weapons
• It comes as a defence minister warned Nato’s stockpiles were ‘insufficient’ 
• Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said it was time for countries to ‘tool up’ 

Britain and its Nato allies ‘need to tool up’ and restock its dwindling supply of anti-tank weapons after thousands of missiles were sent to the front lines in Ukraine, a minister has said.

Armed Forces Minister James Heappey this week admitted that Nato stockpiles of deadly weapons had been ‘insufficient’ as the alliance continues to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invading military.

It comes amid fears the British Army faces running out of next-generation light anti-tank weapons (NLAW) missiles after it emerged ministers have not green-lit plans to replace thousands of weapons donated to Ukraine. 

‘It’s very obvious, the stockpiles that were being held across Nato – even in the US – were insufficient given realistically how long it would take for manufacturing to come in,’ former Army Major Mr Heappey admitted during a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London. 

‘You can see all across the alliance people realising that it is time to retool up and be in the business, as an alliance, of being able to overwhelm militarily.’

The NLAW missile system have proven a deadly weapon on the battlefield, helping Ukrainian forces to destroy hundreds of Russian tanks

The lethal NLAW, made in Belfast, have proven critical in the success of Ukraine’s fierce resistance against Russian invaders, destroying hundreds of tanks.  

Defence sources have said that close to 7,000 NLAW missiles could have been sent to Ukraine – which is about half of Britain’s total stockpile. 

Alec Shelbrooke, the former defence procurement minister who was in charge of buying all the UK’s military kit until he was sacked by Rishi Sunak on Wednesday, admitted last week that a deal still had not been agreed to replace the weapons.

In response to a written question from John Healey, the Shadow Defence Secretary, Shelbrooke said the MoD was ‘on schedule to place contracts’.  

‘We continue to equip Ukraine with vital supplies, such as NLAWs,’ said Mr Shelbroke, who has since been replaced by Alex Chalk. ‘We are replacing equipment and munitions from UK stocks and are on schedule to place contracts to replenish NLAW stocks.’

Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said Nato and its allies need to ‘tool up’ and bolster its stock of deadly weapons. Mr Heappey is pictured in Downing Street on October 18

A handful of British soldiers have been busy training the Ukrainian Army how to use the NLAWs, with 30 UK troops understood to have flown to Yavoriv in the west of Ukraine a month before Russia invaded. 

Military sources have reportedly claimed the Ministry of Defence had knocked ‘months off’ its procurement timelines in a bid to resupply its stock of missiles. 

Francis Tusa, a defence analyst, said the NLAW’s success in Ukraine meant it was a ‘no brainer’ for the MoD to restock its missile supplies. 

‘We shipped them out so quickly and it arguably changed the course of the war because the Ukrainians were able to take out armoured columns with no effort at all,’ he told The Times.

‘These things take time to be produced. Why there has been any delay, I just cannot fathom.’

But Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary warned that the Government had to act urgently to fill the void left in its supply of anti-tank missiles. 

‘This failing military procurement system needs fixing,’ Mr Healey said in a statement to MailOnline. 

‘The NLAW anti-tank missiles have been vital to Ukraine. This is day 244 of Putin’s war, yet there’s still no MoD contract signed and still no production to restock for Ukraine and for our own Army.

The Ministry of Defence revealed it has sent Kyiv more than 6,900 anti-tank missiles, 16,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, 5,000 night-vision goggles, 120 Armoured Fighting Vehicles and six Stormer vehicles fitted with Starstreak launchers. It plans to bolster Ukraine’s existing Soviet-era artillery with more than 20 M109 155mm self-propelled guns, 36 L119 105mm artillery guns, and in excess of 1,600 anti-tank weapons and hundreds of loitering aerial munitions in the coming weeks

Ukrainian troops, pictured before Russia invaded in February, have been trained how to use the weapons by British troops. But there are concerns that the UK still has not green-lit a deal to replace the thousands of missiles donated to Kyiv

‘More broadly, ministers must move away from ad-hoc announcements of weapons and set out a long-term plan of support for Ukraine, alongside allies, to make sure Putin’s illegal invasion ends in failure.’

During his speech at RUSI, Mr Heappey warned that Britain had ‘inescapably returned to a requirement for conventional hard-power deterrence’.

The minister said the nation – and Nato’s – defence and manufacturing powerhouses were not equipped to replace vast stocks of weaponry used on the front lines, rapidly.

‘The industrial capacity simply does not exist to replace those things at anything like the pace that would be required,’ Mr Heappey told journalists and defence experts.

He said the MoD would face ‘profound challenges’ if it came to sourcing more military tech during a time of ‘total war’. 

But the minister insisted that the UK could not rely on bringing old kit and vehicles – like obsolete tanks – back into service to fill a void in supplies.

He said Britain could not ‘kid itself’ into thinking that if the Army ‘dusted down’ all its out-of-service kit, like the Challenger 1 or Chieftain tanks, which are ‘currently gate guards’ at military camps across the UK it would have a fresh stock of 200 extra vehicles to rely upon.   

‘That’s nonsense, we would be defeated in a blink,’ he said.

The MoD insisted the UK had ‘enough’ weapons systems to ‘defend our national security’ while ‘fulfilling’ its commitments to Nato and Ukraine. 

A spokesman added the MoD was ‘actively engaged’ with industry to ‘ensure’ it could equip Ukraine with ‘vital military support, while replacing at pace, all the equipment and munitions’ donated from UK stocks to Kyiv.

REVEALED: Britain’s military aid to Ukraine since Putin’s February 24 invasion in numbers  

Since Putin’s February 24 invasion:

• More than 6,900 anti-tank missiles (including more than 5,000 NLAW, as well as Javelin, Brimstone, and other anti-tank weapons);
• Multiple Launch Rocket Systems;
• 120 Armoured Fighting Vehicles
• Six Stormer vehicles fitted with Starstreak launchers as well as hundreds of Starstreak missiles;
• Maritime Brimstone;
• More than 16,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, as well as anti-structure munitions and 4.5 tonnes of plastic explosive;
• Communications equipment;
• Electronic warfare equipment;
• More than 82,000 helmets, 8,450 sets of body armour, medical supplies and more than 5,000 night-vision devices.

Military aid to Ukraine in ‘coming weeks’:

• More than 20 M109 155mm self-propelled guns;
• Thirty-six L119 105mm artillery guns and ammunition;
• More than 50,000 rounds of ammunition for Ukraine’s soviet era artillery;
• At least 1,600 more anti-tank weapons;
• Unmanned aerial systems (including 100s loitering aerial munitions);
• Counter-battery radar systems;
• Medical equipment.

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