UK to build 12 new submarines and six new munition factories as part of Strategic Defence Review

Published connected 02/06/2025 - 11:24 GMT+2•Updated 11:42

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced connected Monday that nan UK will build 12 caller onslaught submarines and six caller ammunition factories arsenic portion of a Strategic Defence Review.

The externally-led reappraisal outlines 62 recommendations, which nan authorities endorsed successful full, including moving nan Armed Forces into a authorities of "warfighting readiness".

"When we are being straight threatened by states pinch precocious subject forces, nan astir effective measurement to deter them is to beryllium ready, and frankly, to show them that we’re fresh to present bid done strength," Starmer said successful Glasgow connected Monday.

The review, he added, is "a blueprint to make Britain safer and stronger, a battle-ready, bomber-clad federation pinch nan strongest alliances and nan astir precocious capabilities, equipped for nan decades to come".

The 12 caller conventionally equipped nuclear-powered submarines will beryllium built arsenic portion of nan AUKUS programme concluded successful 2021 betwixt Australia, nan UK, and nan US and should each beryllium online by nan precocious 2030s pinch 1 built each 18 months, per Starmer.

The programme will beryllium accompanied by a £15 cardinal (€17.8 billion) finance successful atomic warheads.

Another cardinal plank of nan reappraisal is nan procurement of up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons, on pinch a £1.5 cardinal (€1.8 billion) finance to build astatine slightest six munitions and energetics factories.

One of these accumulation capacities is expected to beryllium "always on" to let for accumulation to beryllium ramped up quickly to meet nan request of high-tempo warfare, if necessary.

"The hard-fought lessons from Putin’s forbidden penetration of Ukraine show a subject is only arsenic beardown arsenic nan manufacture that stands down them," Defence Secretary John Healey said successful a statement.

"We are strengthening nan UK’s business guidelines to amended deter our adversaries and make nan UK unafraid astatine location and beardown abroad," he added.

The authorities will besides put guardant £1 cardinal (€1.2 billion) successful a caller CyberEM Command to boost cyber operations and integer capability, arsenic good arsenic £1.5 cardinal of further backing to repair and renew equipped forces housing.

The investments should make immoderate measurement into Britain's goal, unveiled earlier this year, to boost defence spending to 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product by 2027 and to 3% successful nan adjacent parliament.

Britain, a NATO member, will connected Wednesday co-chair a gathering of nan Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which intends to coordinate subject support to Ukraine successful consequence to Russia's full-scale penetration involving 56 countries.

Defence ministers from nan confederation will meet connected Thursday to proceed talks connected expanding nan defence spending target from its existent 2% of GDP level.

Allies look to person landed connected a 5% of GDP target, a number many times called for by Trump, though it would beryllium divided successful two: 3.5% of GDP for difficult subject spending, and a further 1.5% connected defence-related spending including, for instance, infrastructure and cybersecurity.

The caller target will beryllium endorsed by NATO astatine a acme successful The Hague later this month.

Starmer defended his purpose to bring defence spending to 3% successful nan adjacent parliament, truthful beneath nan 3.5% by 2032 that NATO is group to work together on.

"Everything we do will adhd to nan spot of NATO," he said. "The NATO confederation intends thing profound, that we will ne'er conflict alone. It is simply a basal root of our strategical strength".

The translator we're driving successful our defence must adhd up to Britain's biggest publication to NATO since its creation," he added.