A pay rise for Britain’s soldiers, sailors and aviators will help end the “morale and recruitment crisis” in the Armed Forces, defence chiefs have declared.

Military personnel will receive a six per cent pay rise amid concern over the state of the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as the threat from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea intensifies.

Britain’s de facto head of the Armed Forces, Chief of Defence Staff Sir Tony Radakin, said the pay boost will “help us to recruit and retain the high calibre people we need to keep the country safe”.

And Defence Secretary John Healey said: “We will renew our nation’s contract with those who serve. Our new government’s first duty is keeping the British people safe. And the strength of our defence lies in the serving men and women of our forces.

“This pay award will benefit every member of the Armed Forces. It is an important step towards turning around the declining morale and recruitment crisis we have faced in recent years. A clear demonstration of our government’s commitment to improving service life.

“This is a first step and we know there is so much more to do. Our new Armed Forces Commissioner will be a strong, independent voice for service personnel and their families, and we will place the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law.

“I want to attract the brightest and the best into our Armed Forces, because only with strong national security can we build a confident, prosperous country.”

Most members of the armed forces, including new recruits, will see their pay go up by 6%, backdated to April.

Senior members of the military (two-star rank and above) will get a 5% consolidated increase to base pay.

Chief of Defence Staff Sir Tony Radakin said: “This year’s pay award is testament to the hard work and extraordinary dedication of the Armed Forces at a pivotal time for our security.

“Alongside a comprehensive benefits package, it aims to ensure our people feel properly recognised and rewarded.

“The significant increase in starting pay for new recruits underlines the enormous stock we place in those young people who step forward to serve their nation.

“As the world becomes more contested and uncertain, this award will help us to recruit and retain the high calibre people we need to keep the country safe and help it prosper.”

The move comes after the head of the British Army warned that the nation has just three years to prepare for war amid a growing threat from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

General Sir Roly Walker, Chief of the General Staff, said he has “just enough time” to “prepare, act, and re-establish credible land forces”.

The former special forces officer said he aimed to double the Army’s fighting power in three years and triple it by the end of the decade.

But in his first public speech, he told the land warfare conference at the Royal United Services Institute that if “called to battle before then”, troops will have to fall back on “old hardware”.

Sir Roly told the conference defence forces had struggled to shake a “big army mindset, where some still believe that raw troop numbers alone determine fighting power”.

“We are, in fact, a medium-sized army and we should embrace that as the catalyst that drives even greater integration for a more powerful joint force,” he added.

Sir Roly, who took over as the Chief of the General Staff last month, commanded the Grenadier Guards from 2009 before becoming Deputy Chief of Defence Staff.

His lengthy military career began with the Irish Guards in 1993, then involved service with the SAS from 1997.

His service record has included deployments in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Army chief said he must be “realistic” that if called to battle before his overhaul, “it will be with much of the old hardware, and we will have to work within the limits of their stockpiles and their logistic support systems”.

“And so as we transition from old to new, our fighting power will come from a hybrid system. And that’s OK,” he added.

“Hybridity, in the right hands, can inspire extraordinary creativity, and resilience, vigour.”

The need for improvement is “urgent”, he said, adding: “We have got to pull the future of fighting power into the present, faster than we thought we could.

“We probably do have just enough time to prepare, act, and re-establish credible land forces to support that strategy of deterrence.”

Sir Roly said the Army would exploit emerging technologies “fuelled by artificial intelligence” to “double and then triple our fighting power”.

“That way we will have every confidence in being ready and able to fight anyone and win.

“It will also give our soldiers every reason to stay in the Army and contribute adding value to society.”