The United Kingdom will expand its nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet, add thousands of long-range weapons, and establish a new cyber command under a sweeping defense strategy aimed at preparing the country for high-intensity warfighting, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government announced Monday.
The plan, detailed in the Strategic Defence Review, includes building up to 12 conventionally armed submarines under the AUKUS partnership with the United States and Australia, and committing £15 billion to nuclear warhead modernization. Defense Secretary John Healey said the moves were designed to send "a message to Moscow" and meet growing demands for European self-reliance as U.S. President Donald Trump pressures NATO allies to take on more of their own security burden.
"The moment has arrived to transform how we defend ourselves," Starmer said during a visit to BAE Systems' Govan shipbuilding site in Scotland. "When we are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, the most effective way to deter them is to be ready."
The review, the first since 2021, is led by former NATO Secretary-General George Robertson and former White House Russia adviser Fiona Hill. All 62 of its recommendations have been accepted by the government. These include:
- Building six new munitions plants
- Procuring up to 7,000 British-made long-range weapons
- Launching a Cyber and Electromagnetic Command to manage offensive and defensive cyber operations
- Replacing the current submarine fleet beginning in the late 2030s
The defense overhaul is a reversal from decades of post-Cold War drawdowns. With 70,860 full-time soldiers, the British Army is at its smallest since the Napoleonic era. Starmer has pledged to raise defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, up from 2.3%, with an "ambition" to reach 3% in the longer term. He has already reduced the international aid budget to help fund the increase.
Healey said the armed forces are under near-constant cyber assault. Russia is "attacking the UK daily," he told the BBC, citing more than 90,000 cyberattacks over the past two years targeting defense networks.
Stockpiling arms and increasing military readiness comes as NATO considers raising its baseline target to 3.5% of GDP. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the incoming NATO Secretary-General, said the 32-member alliance will debate the proposal this month in the Netherlands.
The U.K. initiative is also a signal to Washington. Trump has long criticized NATO members for under-spending and threatened to withdraw U.S. support unless Europe contributes more. Healey said the U.K.'s new posture demonstrates it is "heeding the call."
Shares of British defense contractors, including BAE Systems, Babcock, and Rolls-Royce, rose after the announcement.
The Conservative Party, now in opposition, questioned the credibility of Labour's long-term spending pledge. "All of Labour's strategic defence review promises will be taken with a pinch of salt unless they can show there will actually be enough money to pay for them," said Conservative defense spokesperson James Cartlidge.
