UK defence spending plan adds at least £1bn as Starmer seeks military boost

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UK defence spending boost

Highlights

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will publish an updated defence investment plan on Tuesday, adding £1bn-£1.5bn to the previous military funding proposal.
The revised settlement prioritises armed forces readiness and autonomy, increasing investment in drones, uncrewed ground vehicles, and the Global Combat Air Programme with potential £6bn total funding by 2032.
An interim contract and funding for a supersonic test aircraft led by BAE Systems will be announced, with the plan strategically timed ahead of the July 7 Nato summit in Ankara.

Revised plan before Nato summit

As first reported by the Financial Times, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to publish the updated defence investment plan on Tuesday after the resignation this month of former defence secretary John Healey. People familiar with the matter say the revised settlement adds between £1bn and £1.5bn to the previous proposal, while some figures in the defence sector had hoped for as much as £2.5bn extra.

The overhaul follows Healey's departure in protest at an earlier plan that would have raised military funding by £13.5bn, below the £18bn he had sought. His successor, Dan Jarvis, has reworked the blueprint to make what officials describe as stark choices, with a stronger focus on armed forces readiness for combat and the use of autonomy across the services.

The document is more than six months late and is expected to go to print on Monday ahead of the planned announcement. One Whitehall official says the final deadline for completing it is July 6, just before the Nato summit in Ankara begins the following day, if any last-minute problems emerge.

Military capability and political implications

The plan includes higher investment in drones and other autonomous systems than previously proposed, including uncrewed ground vehicles for the British Army to resupply frontline troops and evacuate casualties. It also includes further funding for the Global Combat Air Programme, the joint fighter jet project involving the UK, Italy and Japan, with an international contract potentially due to be signed as early as Tuesday when an interim agreement expires.

According to people familiar with the funding discussions, the Treasury agrees to release money for an 18-month contract and sets aside funding for another four years through 2032. The Financial Times previously reports that funding for the programme could reach up to £6bn over that six-year period.

Funding due to be announced on Tuesday also includes money for a test aircraft to trial technologies for GCAP. The supersonic demonstrator, a UK-only initiative led by BAE Systems, is set to become the country's first such jet since the aircraft built for the Eurofighter Typhoon nearly 40 years ago, and part of the package also supports further drone development.

Starmer is under pressure to show allies, including the U.S., that the UK is strengthening its military commitment, while domestic political uncertainty adds urgency to the decision. Whitehall figures say officials already start briefing likely successor Andy Burnham and his team on defence and other policy areas, and some defence figures believe a lightly detailed plan could leave room for a future prime minister to revisit capability choices.

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