THE HAGUE, Netherlands \u2014 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday unveiled sweeping defense reforms and spending increases, pledging to transform Britain into a \u201cbattle-ready, armour-clad nation\u201d as he launched the findings of his government\u2019s Strategic Defence Review at Govan shipyard in Glasgow. Among the rearmament measures is an announcement that the country will build up to twelve new attack submarines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking against the backdrop of Type 26 frigates under construction, Starmer announced plans to raise defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with an ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament \u201csubject to economic and fiscal conditions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The increases represent \u201cthe largest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War,\u201d the prime minister said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UK will significantly expand its nuclear-powered, conventionally armed submarine fleet, Starmer announced, with the government purchasing and UK shipyards building up to a dozen new SSN AUKUS-type vessels. Production was to be scaled up to allow a new sub to be launched every 18 months, the prime minister said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s part of an ambitious industrial expansion program, also promising to build \u201cat least six new munitions factories,\u201d which the government says will generate over 1,000 jobs and produce \u201cthousands of new long-range weapons,\u201d supporting around 800 additional positions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just yesterday, the UK\u2019s Defence Secretary John Healey announced that the government is planning to buy 7,000 new cruise missiles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The review identifies three core priorities: shifting to \u201cwarfighting readiness\u201d as the central purpose of Britain\u2019s armed forces, strengthening NATO contributions through a \u201cNATO first\u201d policy, and accelerating innovation \u201cto a wartime pace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Starmer also confirmed a \u00a315 billion ($20.3 billion) investment in the sovereign warhead programme, the British nuclear weapons program, claiming it will create 9,000 jobs plus thousands more in the supply chain. This would constitute a \u201chistoric renewal of [Britain\u2019s] nuclear deterrent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United Kingdom maintains a submarine-based, nuclear second-strike capability, with British atomic warheads deployed in the world\u2019s oceans at any given time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Prime Minister set an ambitious target to create \u201can Army which is ten times more lethal by 2035\u201d through the integration of drones, destroyers, AI, and aircraft across all service branches. He promised to \u201cend the hollowing out of our armed forces\u201d while delivering \u201cthe biggest armed forces pay rise in 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government also plans to establish a \u201chybrid Royal Navy\u201d that combines drones with traditional warships and submarines to patrol the North Atlantic, alongside investments in air and missile defense systems to \u201cbetter protect these islands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Framing the spending increases as a \u201cdefense dividend\u201d for working people, Starmer argued the investments would drive \u201cjobs and investment throughout the country\u201d while providing \u201clocal opportunities, skilled work, community pride.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement comes as Britain faces what Starmer characterized as threats \u201cmore serious, more immediate and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War,\u201d citing war in Europe, new nuclear risks, and daily cyber attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe know that threats are increasing and we must act decisively to face down Russian aggression,\u201d said Healey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s part of an ambitious industrial expansion program that also entails building new munitions factories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":119717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":46,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,46,11,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3463],"class_list":["post-70273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-europe","category-global","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"M2RMV5LUIJBFRF7CDGYTD7QYZU","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2025\/06\/02\/starmer-vows-battle-ready-britain-with-12-new-attack-submarines\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n