Plan includes more than 5 billion pounds for drones and autonomous systems over four years, Ministry of Defence says.<\/p>\n
Published On 30 Jun 202630 Jun 2026<\/p>\n
Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that Britain will spend almost 300 billion pounds ($397bn) over the next four years to modernise its armed forces amid rising threats.<\/p>\n
Starmer, expected to leave office next month after losing the support of Labour MPs, announced on Tuesday that the overall defence budget would increase by 15 billion pounds ($20bn) over the next four years to almost 300 billion pounds as he launched his long-awaited defence investment plan.<\/p>\n
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\u201cLast 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,\u201d Starmer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the right choice because the world has changed. National security is economic security.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday we uplift defence spending further \u2013 an additional 15 billion pounds worth of funding \u2013 by \u2026 reprioritising spending across government.\u201d<\/p>\n
The plan includes more than 5 billion pounds ($6.6bn) for drones and autonomous systems over the next four years, the Ministry of Defence said in a news release.<\/p>\n
The announcement followed months of wrangling within Starmer\u2019s Labour government over the resources required to modernise the United Kingdom\u2019s armed forces in the face of rising threats, including from Russia.<\/p>\n
Two defence ministers quit this month in a row over the spending proposals, including Defence Secretary John Healey, who said the plans risked making Britain \u201cless safe\u201d.<\/p>\n
Starmer\u2019s pledge came as United States President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged NATO allies to spend more on defence and become less reliant on Washington for security.<\/p>\n