Defence Spending
“My Ministers will provide our gallant Armed Forces with the
biggest spending increase in thirty years, taking forward their
programme of modernisation and reinforcing the United Kingdom’s
commitment to NATO.”
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● The Government is investing over £24 billion more in
defence in cash terms over the four years from 2021-22. This
is the biggest sustained defence spending increase since the
end of the cold war.
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● This investment, and funding to implement the Integrated
Review and the Defence Command Paper, is an unprecedented
funding programme to modernise our Armed Forces, to make them
fit for the threats of a more competitive age and the
opportunities of a Global Britain.
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● We are driving innovation in game-changing technologies
that will give us a decisive edge, investing in agile,
inter-connected, and data-driven capabilities that will make
generational leaps in our capability to outpace our
adversaries. It is vital that we seize the opportunities for
innovation – focusing on game-changing technologies – and
protect those technologies that will provide us with a
decisive edge. This will enable us to ensure that the UK
continues to have competitive, innovative and world-class
defence to accelerate the transformation of our armed forces
and sustain our strategic advantage.
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● We will constantly adapt, experiment, and take risks to
further strengthen the UK’s strategic technological
advantage. The additional funding announced will:
o Enable research into artificial intelligence and other
battle-winning technologies, with an investment of at least £6.6
billion in research and development.
o Enhance the breadth of our space capabilities and our new Space
Command.
o Continue the renewal of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
o Deliver our plans for eight Type 26 and five Type 31 frigates,
and develop the next generation of naval vessels, including Type
32 frigates and Fleet Solid Support ships.
o Further develop our Carrier Strike capabilities, with at least
48 UK F-35s by 2025.
o Deliver upgraded Typhoon radars and develop a new Combat Air
system for the RAF.
o Ensure our Armed Forces are more agile, more lethal and more
integrated as well as providing additional investment in new Army
equipment on top of the more than £20 billion planned.
o Enable the creation of a new special operations Ranger
Regiment, development of the Future Commando Force and a
pioneering warfighting experimentation Battle Group.
o Enable us to upgrade 148 main battle tanks, making Challenger
III one of the most protected and lethal in Europe.
● This cash injection reaffirms the UK’s commitment to our
allies, cementing the UK as the largest European defence spender
in NATO and the second largest in the Alliance.
Key facts
● The additional investment of over £24 billion in the defence
budget will:
o Exceed the Government’s commitment to spend at least 2 per cent
of GDP on defence in every year of this Parliament; NATO figures
show our current commitment is 2.3 per cent.
o EnsuretheUKcontinuestomeetbothNATOspendingguidelinesto spend 2
per cent of GDP on defence and 20 per cent of annual defence
expenditure on major equipment and associated research and
development.
o Secure400,000jobsandincreaseopportunitiesacrosstheUnion.
o Support around £20 billion investment in UK industry and
commerce every
year.
o Ensure at least £6.6 billion investment for next generation
capabilities and research, especially cyber and space.
● We will double shipbuilding investment over the life of this
Parliament to more than £1.7 billion a year.
