The programme will upgrade docking ports, waterfront infrastructure and key buildings while adding new Single Living Accommodation for personnel. The MOD said the investment is designed to improve Royal Navy readiness, availability and lethality at a time of rising security pressures.
Scotland is central to the plan because HMNB Clyde is home to the UK’s nuclear deterrent and serves as the Royal Navy’s submarine centre of specialisation. The MOD said Clyde will receive one of the most significant and sustained UK Government investment programmes in Scotland in the coming decades, with economic benefits expected to flow across the West of Scotland through regional industrial partners.
“The threats facing the United Kingdom are real and they are growing. This Government is not waiting — we are acting now to ensure our Royal Navy has the bases and infrastructure it needs to be ready to fight,” said Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard MP.
“This £26 billion investment is the largest in our naval bases since the Cold War, and Scotland is central to it. Clyde is critical to our nation’s defence. This investment is securing thousands of jobs up and down the country and strengthening our Armed Forces for the challenges of today and the future,” Pollard said.
The upgrades will include new training facilities, out-of-water engineering infrastructure and research and development capabilities. The MOD said the work supports the Strategic Defence Review’s commitment to warfighting readiness and forms part of the wider £298 billion Defence Investment Plan.
Alongside the naval programme, the government confirmed more than £240 million in RAF support and logistics contracts benefiting Scotland and supporting more than 380 jobs. Boeing Defence UK received a £115.2 million, two-year extension to sustain the RAF’s nine P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft at RAF Lossiemouth, while a £127.5 million E-7 Wedgetail sustainment contract will support about 180 jobs, with 60 to 80 new roles projected.
“Scotland is crucial to UK defence and this £15.3 billion UK Government funding for some of our most critical military assets will make Britain safer at home, stronger abroad and deliver a defence dividend for Scottish communities,” said Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander.
“As home to the Royal Navy Submarine Service and the UK’s nuclear deterrent, it’s only right that Faslane – Scotland’s largest military establishment and second-biggest employment site with over 6,500 military and civilian personnel – will be transformed with £15.1 billion Defence Investment Plan funding into a modern, more efficient base, future-proofed for war-fighting,” Alexander said.
“This, along with a further £240 million being confirmed to keep RAF Lossiemouth-based aircraft mission ready, means we are investing in the capabilities, infrastructure and people that keep us and our allies safe, while creating and supporting jobs and driving economic growth across Scotland for years to come.”
The MOD has also completed the purchase of Finnart Oil Terminal in the West of Scotland, a multi-million-pound acquisition intended to expand the Royal Navy’s sovereign fuel-holding capacity. The department said using existing infrastructure will strengthen operational resilience, support skilled local jobs and provide additional space needed for the Clyde Transformation Programme.
The government is also investing £20 million in Inchgreen Marine Park on the River Clyde to revitalise one of the largest operational dry docks in the UK. The investment is expected to support 350 direct jobs and create a new skills centre, reinforcing the Clyde’s role in the UK’s maritime industrial base.
The combined package links naval readiness, RAF sustainment and industrial renewal across Scotland, South West England and the Solent. For the MOD, the ten-year programme is both a military infrastructure overhaul and a long-term defence industrial investment aimed at keeping the Royal Navy and wider Armed Forces prepared for future operations.
