The UK announced a major investment in the "threat new era" driven by "Russian aggression".
The UK's Strategic Defense Review (SDR) was unveiled on Monday, including new investments in nuclear warheads, new submarines and new ammunition plants. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said SDR will bring the country into "combat preparation."
"The threat we face now is more serious, more direct and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War," Steamer said during a review in Glasgow, Scotland.
SDR describes Russia as a "direct and urgent" threat and calls China a "complex and lasting challenge."
European countries have been eager to strengthen their armed forces in recent months after Trump repeatedly demanded that Europe must take more responsibility for its security responsibilities.
The UK's first defense comment since 2021 was led by former NATO Secretary-General George Robertson. Of the 62 recommendations of SDR, all of them are accepted by the government.
Stemmer said the measures recommended in the review will bring "basic changes" to the armed forces, including "turning to war ready", re-emphasizing "NATO first" defense posture and accelerating innovation.
“Everywhere in society, every citizen of this country can play a role because we have to recognize that things in the world today have changed,” he said. “The frontline, if you want, is here.”
Based on the review’s recommendations, the government said it would increase inventory and weapons production capacity and could scale up if needed.
A total of £1.5 billion (USD 2 billion) will be committed to building "at least six ammunition and energy plants" and plans to produce 7,000 long-range weapons.
In turn, UK ammunition expenditure (just part of the overall military expenditure) is expected to reach £6 billion ($8.1 billion) during the current parliamentary period, with the deadline ending in 2029.
As part of the Aukus military alliance with Australia and the United States, up to 12 new attack submarines are also planned to be built by the late 2030s, equivalent to new submarines every 18 months.
That's almost half of the estimated spending outlined in SDR.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) also said it would invest £15 billion (US$20.3 billion) in its own nuclear warhead program.
SDR recommends procurement of new F-35 fighters and global fighter jets, the sixth-generation fighter jet produced in conjunction with Japan and Italy.
The military's target size will remain roughly the same, but SDR recommends a slight increase in the number of regular soldiers "if funds are allowed". There are currently about 71,000.
SDR recommends using technology, drones and software to "improve fatality ten times", rather than increasing numbers in the troops.
To this end, the Ministry of Defense plans to provide a £1 billion ($1.35 billion) "digital positioning network", an AI-powered software tool designed to collect battlefield data and use it to enable faster decision-making.
More details on SDR will be available in the upcoming defence industry strategy that will be in the coming weeks, but the UK Defence Company will be one of the biggest winners of the new SDR.
Although it is said to be a 10-year review, past SDRs suggest that its shelf life may be subject to greater restrictions.
The last SDR was published in 2021 and suggested “a strategic hub for the Indo-Pacific region to address China’s influence and deepen ties with allies like Australia, India and Japan”, which was in line with the strategic priorities of the time.
The SDR repositioned Britain's geographical priorities after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. These may change again in the coming years.
According to the costs and estimates provided in the SDR, the proposal to prepare the British armed forces for "preparing for combat" will cost at least £67.6 billion ($91.4 billion) to the late 2030s.
The government has pledged to increase defense spending from its current 2.3% to 2027, up 6 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) a year, ahead of the announcement on Monday. That would raise £60 billion in 10 years, which is a little less than SDR's expected cost.
The government said it would cut overseas aid to fund a 0.2% increase in GDP in defense spending.
Critics say that's not enough, and the measures outlined by SDR will account for 3% of GDP.
"It is clear to the authors of the Strategic Defense Review that 3% (not 2.5%) of GDP "determines the affordability of the program," said Shadow Defense Secretary James Cartlidge.
In February, the Labor government said it was an "ambition" to increase defense spending to 3% in the next parliament (after 2029), but Katledge said: "The promise cannot be guaranteed until the next election."
According to researchers at the London-based independent research organization, increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 will require an additional £17 billion, which the government has not yet accounted for.
However, it may be necessary for the UK to raise spending even more. During a discussion ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague later this month, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is known to push member states to donate 5% of GDP to defense-related spending.
Rutte proposes that by 2032, NATO's 32 members promise to spend 3.5% on hard defense, while on a broader level of security (such as the network).
"In this minister, we will make a huge leap forward," Rut said at a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels this Thursday. "We will strengthen deterrence and defense by agreeing to ambitious new capability targets." According to NATO's briefing on Wednesday, he designated air and missile defense, long-range weapons, logistics and large land maneuvering formations as one of the alliance's top priorities.
“We need more resources, strength and capabilities so that we can prepare to face any threats and fully implement our collective defense plan, he said, adding: “We will need higher defense spending.” This is the basis of everything. ”
Starmer on Monday refused to rule out another raid on the aid budget to fund higher military spending and said he hopes he can get additional investment that could be supported by growing economic support. And generate more taxes to pay for defense costs.
Following the announcement of the SDR, the director of the Institute of Finance Paul Johnson warned that the prime minister would need a “very massive tax increase” to pay for the plan.
Additionally, the increase in defense spending can be eliminated from other parts of the budget - for example, by reducing state spending in areas such as transportation and energy infrastructure.