New British army chief: UK must be ready to fight in 3 years

The new head of the United Kingdom's army, General Sir Roland Walker has said that Britain must be ready to fight in 3 years.

During his speech, he stated that war is not inevitable and that the army has enough time to prepare to avoid conflict.

Central to the plan was doubling the military's combat power by 2027 and tripling it by the end of the decade. In his first speech in the role, General Walker said the UK was facing an axis of unrest.

The general said one of the main threats facing Britain in the coming years is an angry Russia, which could seek revenge against the West for supporting Ukraine.

"It doesn't matter how it ends. I think Russia will come out of it probably weaker, but still very, very dangerous and wanting some form of punishment for what we've done to help Ukraine."

He said the road to war was not inexorable if the UK re-established credible land forces to support its deterrence strategy to avoid war. The general urged the British military to modernize quickly, including a focus on artificial intelligence.