A defence company in West Sussex developing counter-drone and air defence technology has been left on hold since last year awaiting clarity on the UK Defence Investment Plan, a Liberal Democrat MP told the House of Commons during Treasury questions on 28 April.
John Milne, MP for Horsham, raised the case of Chess Dynamics, part of the Cohort group, which he described as a world-leading developer of exactly the capabilities the armed forces need. Without clarity from the DIP, Milne said the company cannot commission new air defence systems, leaving the next generation of Royal Navy frigates potentially exposed. “It needs to know now,” he said, asking the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to meet him and Chess Dynamics to provide the certainty the company required.
Chief Secretary James Murray defended the government’s record on defence investment, pointing to over a thousand contracts signed since the general election including a billion-pound contract for medium helicopters in Yeovil, half a billion pounds invested in radar systems, and £100 million to support submarine-hunting aircraft. “This Government are raising investment in defence to the highest sustained level since the cold war and it is at the core of ensuring that we are protecting our nation’s security,” he said, without directly addressing the DIP delay or agreeing to the requested meeting.
The exchange reflects a pattern of concern emerging across the UK defence industry over the delayed Defence Investment Plan, which is intended to set out the MoD’s funding priorities and programme commitments for the coming years. The plan’s finalisation has been cited in recent parliamentary correspondence as a blocking factor for a number of capability and infrastructure decisions. The collapse of Aeralis, the modular jet aircraft developer that had positioned itself as a potential Red Arrows replacement, was directly attributed by its administrators to cashflow pressure caused by continued delays to the DIP.
Conservative shadow minister James Wild pressed Murray on whether the Chancellor was blocking the investment plan, citing former Defence Secretary and NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson’s warning that “we cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget.” Murray dismissed the challenge, pointing to the previous government’s welfare spending record and reaffirming the commitment to raise defence spending to 2.6% of GDP by next April.
Dame Meg Hillier, Chair of the Treasury Committee, also asked whether the government would consider joining the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank to accelerate defence investment. Murray noted the UK had already signed up alongside Finland and the Netherlands to a multilateral defence budget.
The “Defence Investment Plan” is a massive farce and joke just like Labour and Starmer.
Why can’t the PM just get DIP v.1 out nowish and a finalised one later? Ridiculous behaviour isn’t it? We all want to see their homework and give them a mark….LOL.
What you’re advocating is an aspiration list which is exactly what the last government did and it was a disaster. That’s why defence is in such a state now. Defence should not be an aspiration.
I agree the DIP should have been produced last year and there is no excuse for the delay but having a fully funded ten year equipment plan should be a basic standard. Unfortunately the last government didn’t do this and started building up aspirations that were in effect vital military equipment.
Isn’t it time the the “highest sustained investment since the Cold War” rhetoric was changed? There is no increased investment in conventional military capability. Nor have we even returned the twisted headline measure to where the old and better-measured headline number was in 2010. Yet.
Can you share your numbers on that as you math doesn’t seem to fit with the numbers I have seen.
why are you making a distinction between conventional and nuclear forces?
Are you keen on running a colonial police force again? Do you think the Russians and Chinese make a distinction?
Will he release it or hide behind this leadership rubbish and then if he looses let it get licked down the line. For once he needs show real leadership and get on with it, enough of the warm words and hinted at prommises, get on with it. Labour talked a good defence but really have not done what they said they might/could/should do
The extra funding is being announced this week, its £18 billion over four years. it’s being delayed because of the media frenzy over a leadership contests that doesn’t actually exist. No one in labour has supported a leadership challenge. No one in labour will ever support Wes Streeting
Andy Burnham may well not even get to parliament.
The leadership contest may not have been triggered yet but we all know it exists. Yes of course it initially relies on Burnham getting a seat, failing that another challenger will show his hand. I personally would love Starmer to stay, he’s doing a great job destroying Labour.
No denying there will be a leadership contest but there is little appetite for one in the party both in PLP or member level mostly because there is no real challenger present unless Burnham gets in.
But Starmar needs to go because he has become massively unpopular, partly because he has dithered and made some bad calls but mostly because the electorate is so hyper polarised that any individual in the role would be just as unpopular, look at Trump.
But the leadership contest won’t be changing much if anything and nothing in defence. What you will be seeing is a change in leader not a change in government.
Healy will be staying at the MoD. Rachel Reeves will be gone but the fiscal rules will remain.
Isn’t it odd, of all of the “leaks” that happen in government – there have been no leaks relating to this programme.
Britain really must get a move on. The view on the Ukraine conflict from The Baltic States:
‘Rosin said he does not believe Russia is currently interested in earnest peace talks, nor does he think that Ukraine giving up Donbas would lead to a lasting settlement. “Probably, Russia would then come with some new demands, and then start the negotiations again from zero,” he said. “I wouldn’t fall into that trap.” Putin’s overall goal, Rosin argues, remains the capture of Ukraine and the destruction of the European security infrastructure.
Rosin also sees no change in Moscow’s view of the U.S., despite the apparent thaw since Donald Trump’s return to the White House last year. “The Russians feel they can outsmart the West…Russia’s main enemy, strategically, remains the U.S.”
The all-out war in Ukraine has also sparked concerns about Russian aggression spreading further into the Baltic region….Moscow’s military remains fully occupied in Ukraine and does not currently have enough forces available to launch an attack against Estonia. At the same time, the intelligence chief warned against the West falling into complacency in the face of the Russian threat.
“I think we don’t have the luxury to think that we have many years,” Rosin said. “We have to do our work now.”
Kaupo Rosin, Head of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service 16 May 2026