The government’s Defence Investment Plan will be published before the next NATO summit, Defence Secretary John Healey told the House of Commons.
Healey named the plan as part of the government’s wider defence reforms, telling MPs the measures were “part of the transformation of defence in the Defence Investment Plan.”
On its publication, he said: “The Prime Minister is determined to publish before the NATO summit.” He set the document alongside measures he listed for the armed forces, among them what he called “the biggest pay rise for over 20 years,” free childcare for forces families and “the biggest upgrade to forces housing in a generation,” telling the House that armed forces numbers were now growing.
The summit Healey referred to is the alliance’s next gathering of leaders, due to take place in Ankara on 7 and 8 July. That timing gives the government a little over a month to publish a document that has been some time in preparation.
The Defence Investment Plan is intended to set out how the UK will fund the force described in the Strategic Defence Review, which was published in June 2025 ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague.
At that summit, alliance members agreed to raise defence and security spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035, comprising at least 3.5 per cent on core defence and up to 1.5 per cent on wider security such as critical infrastructure protection, networks and the defence industrial base. Members agreed to submit annual plans showing a credible path toward the target, and the Investment Plan represents the UK’s working-out of how it intends to meet that commitment.
The document covers procurement and the equipment programme, the area where the SDR’s ambitions for a more lethal and integrated force, expanded use of autonomous systems and revitalised munitions production have to be matched to budgets. Its contents are expected to indicate which programmes are funded and on what timescale, questions left open by the review itself.
Publication before Ankara would place the plan in front of allies at the point where the UK, like other members, is expected to demonstrate how it will resource the capability targets set at The Hague. Healey’s statement was made during remarks to the Commons that opened with his condemnation of a Russian drone strike on the NATO member Romania, an incident that has sharpened attention on the alliance’s eastern flank and on the pace of European defence investment.
After much delay and pussyfooting around, a chance for Labour to prove they can actually put their money where their mouth is.
So of course be ready for disappointed come July
It helps to re-read the SDR. Which did not recommend increasing the RN Escort fleet beyond 19. Or more Typhoons or increasing the size of the F35 fleet beyond what has already being announced. Or more Challenge 3 tanks forexample. Because those are the headlines some are expecting.
Yes yes I got the gist of it. More drones, new munitions factories, new support ships and maybe new home based anti missile/drone defence systems.
Underwhelming, but I can envision Labour making an announcement that somehow comes off even more watered down than even those promises
Completely agree. Some parts of the media have casted the 2025 SDR as a huge uplift in defence ambition, but really it was barely a re-stating of our already reduced abilities. In most areas this ‘uplift’ is damage control, not increases in capabilities beyond what we had 10 years ago.
I think this is what many on the left of politics wanted. A normalisation of reduced defence ambition. The lack of orders etc has reduced the defence community to welcoming cuts of “only”, for example, 50% to certain fleets as a good outcome. Think tank fleet, 155m artillery etc.
Ironically money doesn’t appear to be the real problem, it’s how it is spent. The MIC hoovering it up for profit, whilst other countries get way more bang for their buck (Italy is a good comparator).
I seriously doubt they are making such a big splash about it and rolling it out before the NATO summit to give bad news.
Hallelujah, a firm deadline.
Does this mean the funding kerfuffle is all sorted?
I wouldn’t hold your breath….
It’s akin to Trumps repetitive Iran war ending announcements, except It’s taking way longer.
Doubt it… They said they’d publish to deadlines before and still blow past them.
“The Prime Minister is 🚨⚠️ DETERMINED ⚠️🚨 to publish before the NATO summit.”
A bit more leeway then, up to July. Will Starmer even be in power then?
I love how he says ““part of the transformation of defence.”
Defence has been modernised and transformed endlessly since 1995 “to meet the challenges of an uncertain world” according to Stirrup, and to make the military more “agile” according to HMG.
We have had:
1994 Front Line First.
1997 SDSR.
2004 “New Chapter” of said SDSR.
2007, the Army had FAS -Future Army Structures.
2010 SDSR.
2012 Army 2020
2015 SDSR.
2015 Army 2020 “Refine.”
2017-18 MDP Modernising Defence Program.
2020 on – Wavell, seems to have vanished into the ether, assume it was only ever an internal Army thing.
2024 SDSR.
Every single one used the same flowery words, agile, transformed, modernisation, rationalise, and so on, while presiding over cut after cut after impending cut.
So prepare for a fun ride and apologies for those of us now so cynical and sceptical because we’ve sat through all this crap before and no longer believe a word these charlatans say….
The little boy who cried wolf comes to mind. Sorry.
Anyway, I saw this suggested project list to look out for on X, courtesy of J Fennel ( Who used to post here as well long ago )
Type 83/FADS.
Types 91/92/93
MRSS
CIC/CLC
MHC motherships.
GCAP
Medium ACP / CCA
Carrier AEW Drone
MQ9 Sea Guardian upgrade.
New Jet Trainer.
CH47 next order. ( the 14 ordered are only the start, lack of another order and the Wokka force collapses like much else )
Nyx Drones.
Brakestop OWE.
Nightfall Missile.
Patria CAVs.
RCH155
LMP
GBAD, both extra SHORAD and MRAD.
Skynet
ISTARI.
Munitions/Drone factories.
Munitions stockpiling.
Naval / Air base upgrades.
Duel use civil airports.
Further forward deployment to Germany/ Norway.
CNI protection, on and offshore, so MROSS as well?
I wonder what survives? Even 2 more E7, 3 more P8, 3 more T31, more people for the Army, RN, RAF I take as a big win, simple as they seem.
Sounds about right pal. Worth folks re-reading the SDR. So those expecting another 60 Typhoons to be ordered won’t be disappointed.
I know mate. The sad thing is, I think those “mundane” kit orders are needed!
And to be fair, the SDR was as wishy washy and vague as could be on all manner of things, so I don’t rule things out. Re read it??!!! I wasted hours of my life going through that already!
Small, sensible, targeted increments in certain, pinch areas.
We all know the fleet is too small, even 3 more cheaper assets would help.
Typhoon, yes, given the money needed for GCAP and the second tranche of F35 that is also wishful thinking.
Dr Alex Alexander Clarke did a video on the defence reviews since 1997. Good video on YouTube. I think it was called ‘where has Britain’s Royal Navy gone’
Pfft.
They are all being replaced by Drones.
Grayburn
It helps to re-read the SDR. Which did not recommend increasing the RN Escort fleet beyond 19. Or more Typhoons or increasing the size of the F35 fleet beyond what has already being announced. Or more Challenge 3 tanks forexample. Because those are the headlines some are expecting.
An SDR is not like an independent inquiry that reports freely and then the government responds. It is a government shaped process from the start.
#‘Independence’
The improvements to forces housing, pay, and general welfare is something that the current government hasn’t received enough credit for.
Sure. Yet I understand the pay was already in core budget, they just took it from one pot. So not new money like Healey indicated in his grandstanding at the time.
Still, vital for trying to improve retention.
One thing you can guarantee it will be very very heavy on autonomous systems.. and light on everything else.