The UK government has announced a £298 billion Defence Investment Plan over the next four years, including an additional £15 billion to modernise the Armed Forces, strengthen military readiness and invest in emerging defence technologies.
The plan aims to raise annual defence spending to almost £80 billion by 2029, reaching 2.7% of GDP, while supporting the delivery of the Strategic Defence Review.
Key developments:
- More than £63 billion allocated to the UK’s nuclear deterrent, including Dreadnought and SSN-AUKUS submarines.
- Over £8 billion for the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) with Japan and Italy.
- More than £5 billion for drones and autonomous systems, alongside AI-enabled military capabilities.
- The government forecasts nearly 60,000 additional defence-related jobs by the end of the decade, with over 500,000 jobs expected to be supported across the UK.
The Defence Investment Plan follows months of delays after it was originally expected in 2025, drawing criticism from opposition parties, industry and Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, which warned the postponement had undermined the UK’s credibility with allies, delayed military modernisation and created uncertainty across the defence sector.
Announcing the plan, Starmer said the UK must “stand more firmly on our own two feet”, arguing that “the best way to avoid war is to prepare for it” and that “the best way to defend is to deter”. He described the package as delivering “the decisive action we need on defence”, while acknowledging that some planned road and energy infrastructure projects would be deferred to help fund the investment.
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