Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that the UK’s armed forces will be ten-times more lethal by 2035, thanks in part to increased spending on drones and AI.
Starmer was commenting on the Strategic Defence Review, published today, during a visit to the BAE Systems Govan facility in Glasgow facility in Glasgow.
“We will innovate and accelerate innovation to a wartime pace so we can meet the threats of today and tomorrow as the fastest innovator in NATO,” Starmer said.
“Now, this doesn’t mean replacing people or hardware – quite the opposite. It means learning the lessons of Ukraine, which I have discussed many times with President Zelenskyy, to ensure every capability we have works seamlessly together.”
“Drones, destroyers, AI, aircraft – each different branch of our armed services, fully integrated, to create an Army which is ten times more lethal by 2035,” he said.
The government has committed to raising defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, and it aims to increase this to 3% to further investment in national defence.
Starmer said the government would approach its defence spending as a once-in-a-generation investment to drive renewal and create new jobs across the country.
“After the Cold War, many nations cut defence spending, freeing up public funds, creating what was called a ‘peace dividend’ which people felt in their public services and the quality of their lives.”
“Faced with new circumstances today, we must deliver for working people again, to seize now a ‘defence dividend’ for the British people, using this moment to drive jobs and investment throughout the country,” he said.
Starmer also said that in the current geopolitical landscape, every British citizen has a role to play in defence.
“Every part of society, every citizen of this country, has a role to play, because we have to recognise that things have changed,” he said.
“In the world of today, the front line, if you like, is here. The threat we now face is more serious, more immediate and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War.”
UK to move to warfighting readiness
The Strategic Defence Review comprises a range of recommendations, which the government said it plans to accept in full.
These include expanding the UK’s nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet and reaffirming its commitment to its nuclear deterrent programme.
Other commitments include increasing stockpiles of munitions and equipment, ensuring that local production can scale up in response to war, and the procurement of up to 7,000 long-range weapons.
The report also recommended that the UK establish a new CyberEM Command to place the UK at the forefront of cyber warfare.
The government cited a “triple lock commitment” to the fleet of submarines at sea armed with nuclear missiles, which comprises maintaining this fleet, building a new fleet of Dreadnought submarines, and delivering all future upgrades necessary to the programme.
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