UK’s defence overhaul puts focus on a ‘more lethal’ Nato, highlights China, Russia threats

The new defence strategy warns that the threats the UK faces “are more serious and less predictable than at any time since the Cold War”. Here’s how the UK plans to shift from a long period of underinvestment and a peacetime mentality to become ready for war, as detailed in Monday’s 140-page document.

The report recommends that Britain should begin discussions with the US and Nato on the “potential benefits and feasibility of enhanced UK participation in Nato’s nuclear mission”. The government wants to achieve this by renewing its existing nuclear deterrent, investing £15 billion (US$20 billion) in its warhead programme, and exploring other means of deterring enemy use of nuclear weapons – which could include buying fighter jets capable of firing nuclear bombs.

The review is explicit in the need for Britain to play a greater role in nuclear deterrence, as the only European country to assign its nuclear capability to the defence of Nato – something that France does not currently do. The need for stepped-up UK action is driven by “the unprecedented challenge” of the US facing two “near-peer” nuclear powers in Russia and China, the report said.

With Trident already absorbing much of the UK’s defence expenditure, the policy is likely to be expensive. As well as the investment in nuclear warheads, Britain plans to build as many as 12 new submarines.

The UK is already under “daily attack” by threats ranging from espionage to cyber warfare and information manipulation, harming both society and the economy, according to the report. It warns that US security priorities have shifted from Nato – and by extension Europe – to the Indo-Pacific and its own homeland.