Britain unveils £300bn defence plan, biggest since Cold War

Britain will invest almost £300 billion in its armed forces over the next four years, with Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister saying the country must strengthen its military as global security threats continue to grow.

The announcement, made on Tuesday, marks one of the biggest increases in British defence spending since the end of the Cold War. The package will raise the country’s defence budget by an additional £15 billion, taking total planned spending to almost £300 billion over the next four years.

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The investment plan comes as Britain faces mounting pressure to modernise its armed forces amid growing concerns over Russia, rapid advances in military technology and calls from the United States for European allies to shoulder more of NATO’s defence burden.

“Last year I made the decision in the national interest to reprioritise aid spending towards defence and achieved the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the Cold War,” Starmer said.

“That was the right choice because the world has changed. National security is economic security.”

He added: “Today we uplift defence spending further, an additional £15 billion worth of funding, by reprioritising spending across government.”

A major focus of the plan is investment in new military technology. Britain will spend more than £5 billion over the next four years on drones and autonomous systems, reflecting the growing role of advanced technology in modern warfare, according to the Ministry of Defence.

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The announcement follows months of disagreements within Starmer’s Labour government over how much funding was needed to rebuild Britain’s military capabilities. The debate intensified after two senior defence ministers resigned this month, including Defence Secretary John Healey, who warned that the proposed spending plans risked making Britain “less safe.”

The new strategy also comes as Donald Trump, United States President continues to press NATO members to increase their military spending and reduce their dependence on Washington for security.

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Starmer is expected to present the defence investment plan at the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7 and 8, where Britain will signal its intention to increase defence spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2035. Under the plan, annual defence spending is projected to reach nearly £80 billion by 2029, underscoring Britain’s long term commitment to strengthening its armed forces amid an increasingly uncertain global security environment.