The investment forms part of £298 billion in defence spending across the next four years, including £15 billion of additional funding on top of last year’s Spending Review. The Ministry of Defence said the plan is intended to prepare Britain’s Armed Forces for the wars of today and the future.
GCAP is described as a groundbreaking collaboration between the UK, Japan and Italy to develop a sixth-generation stealth fighter aircraft. The programme already supports 4,500 jobs across the UK and is deepening defence, industrial and technology cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions.
The Prime Minister announced the plan during a speech at Malloy Aeronautics. The Government said annual defence funding will rise from £54 billion under the previous government to almost £80 billion by 2029.
The plan will increase UK defence spending to 2.7% of GDP. The Ministry of Defence said this would make the share of GDP spent on defence higher by the end of the decade than at any time in the last thirty years and put the UK on track to meet NATO defence spending targets by 2035.
The spending uplift is also forecast to create nearly 60,000 additional direct and indirect UK industry jobs by the end of the decade. The Government said this would take the number of forecast defence spending-related jobs supported in the UK to more than half a million.
The Defence Investment Plan will implement the vision set out in the Strategic Defence Review. It will focus on new equipment and technology, including drones, autonomy and artificial intelligence.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “This record investment puts the security of the British public first, transforming our Armed Forces and giving them the funding and equipment they need to fight and defend our nation. The world is a more dangerous and volatile place, so it is only right we are boosting the number of troops on the ground, rebuilding ammunition stockpiles and investing in cutting edge technology to ensure we outpace our adversaries for generations to come.”
“Every pound in this plan will work twice, delivering economic growth and opportunity for the British people, and supporting more than half a million jobs by the end of the decade, as well as reinforcing our national security.” The Prime Minister also announced a new £50 billion defence export facility through UK Export Finance to support British defence firms in winning contracts globally.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “I have boosted defence spending to the highest level since the Cold War – and today’s Defence Investment Plan goes further still, committing almost £300 billion over this Parliament to transform our Armed Forces. That’s more money, spent more effectively, to keep the country safe and back British industry, jobs and growth.”
The plan includes more than £63 billion over the next four years to strengthen the UK’s nuclear deterrent and fund Dreadnought and SSN-AUKUS submarines, a new warhead and other nuclear work. The Government will also purchase 12 F35As and join NATO’s nuclear mission.
Including elements of the nuclear investment in the first four years, the plan provides £26 billion over the next decade for Project Royal Oak. The Ministry of Defence said this will be the biggest naval base upgrade for more than 45 years and will include multi-billion-pound upgrades at Faslane, Portsmouth and Devonport.
More than £5 billion will be allocated over four years for a drone transformation across the Armed Forces. Within that total, £650 million will deliver inexpensive expendable autonomous systems, including drones and uncrewed ground vehicles, to rapidly enhance the lethality of the Army, Commando Force and Special Forces.
The plan also provides nearly £2 billion for a new Digital Targeting Web to integrate the Armed Forces. The Ministry of Defence said this will enable faster decision-making and quicker destruction of identified targets, underpinned by world-leading AI and software.
A further £790 million over four years will be used to enhance protection of the UK homeland and overseas bases from air, drone and missile threats. The investment will cover command and control, new radars and sensors, Directed Energy Weapons, Sea Viper upgrades for Type 45 destroyers, expanded counter-drone systems and a new Integrated Air, Space and Missile Defence Operations Centre.
The plan includes £11 billion for munitions and weapons to increase UK stockpiles and provide capabilities including long-range strike weapons, low-cost cruise missiles and one-way effectors. By 2030, the Government expects to have built at least six new energetics factories and increased national munitions production capacity.
Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MBE MP said: “I know first-hand the importance of our Armed Forces having the kit and technology they need to do the difficult job we ask of them. I have secured more money and made different choices for defence.”
“We will invest £298 billion over the next four years. That includes an additional £15 billion, of which most is extra day-to-day spending for training and improving availability of ships and aircraft to increase our war-fighting readiness.”
“By choosing to embrace new technology, I am equipping our troops with the autonomous systems which will give them the edge on the battlefield. This extra money and these choices send a clear signal to our allies and our adversaries alike: Britain is stepping up on security.”
The Defence Investment Plan also includes £900 million to drive efficiency and procurement reform. This covers a £500 million Transformation Fund for productivity-improving investments in AI and workforce transformation, as well as an initial £400 million contribution to setting up the Multilateral Defence Mechanism.
The Government will provide £100 million for the Prime Minister’s Rapid AI Delivery Taskforce to accelerate AI-enabled capabilities into the Armed Forces. It is also investing £115 million to raise the UK’s defences against AI threats, including using AI to improve biosecurity and mitigate risks from autonomous AI agents.
Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton said: “This plan sets out how and where we will invest in defence over the coming years to deliver the Strategic Defence Review and build the integrated force the nation needs. It also reflects both the importance of national defence and the vital contribution our Armed Forces make every day to keeping the country safe.”
The Government said the Defence Investment Plan will be funded by reprioritising public spending and acting within fiscal rules. It said the approach would avoid taking resources away from day-to-day spending on frontline services while giving the Armed Forces the resources needed for a new era of threat.
