Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer delivered a major defence policy speech at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Govan today, setting out a vision of national renewal through security, industrial growth and unity.
Speaking ahead of the formal publication of the new Strategic Defence Review, Starmer framed the overhaul as a response to a “more serious, more immediate and more unpredictable” threat environment than at any time since the Cold War.
“Nothing works unless we all work together,” the Prime Minister said, invoking the unofficial motto he encountered aboard a Vanguard-class submarine during a recent visit. That motto, he added, would now guide the UK’s defence posture.
Standing in front of two Type 26 frigates under construction, Starmer announced that the UK would create a “hybrid Royal Navy” that blends drones, warships, submarines and aircraft to patrol the North Atlantic and beyond. This modernised fleet will directly support thousands of shipbuilding jobs, including those at Govan.
As part of the AUKUS partnership, the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK will build up to 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines, significantly expanding the submarine fleet and scaling up the industrial base in Barrow and across the UK supply chain. A new submarine will be delivered every 18 months, marking a dramatic shift in tempo and capacity.
Starmer committed to using defence investment as a tool for broader national regeneration. Among the key announcements:
- Six new munitions factories to be built across the UK, creating over 1,000 jobs.
- Thousands of new long-range weapons to be manufactured domestically, supporting a further 800 jobs.
- £15 billion investment in the sovereign warhead programme, safeguarding the nuclear deterrent and creating 9,000 jobs.
- Major growth in the defence industrial base with job creation at every level—from apprentices to engineers.
“We must now seize a defence dividend for the British people,” Starmer declared. “Creating new jobs, skills and community pride across the country.”
The Prime Minister confirmed that Britain would adopt “warfighting readiness” as the central purpose of the Armed Forces, backed by a strategic reserve and fully trained personnel ready to mobilise. He pledged to end the “hollowing out” of the military and deliver the biggest pay rise for service members in 20 years.
He also reaffirmed the UK’s “NATO first” defence policy, calling for Britain’s largest contribution to the alliance since its founding. “We will never fight alone,” he said, underscoring collective security as fundamental to UK strategy.
Starmer vowed to make the UK NATO’s fastest innovator, drawing lessons from Ukraine to integrate drones, AI, cyber capabilities and conventional platforms into a “ten-times more lethal” force by 2035. He stressed that innovation would enhance, not replace, the human elements of defence.
The Prime Minister concluded with a call for unity and shared sacrifice:
“From the supply lines to the front lines… everyone playing their role, doing their duty to the nation and to each other… because when it comes to security and renewal, nothing works unless we all work together.”
The Strategic Defence Review, due to be published in full later today, is expected to outline 62 major reforms across readiness, procurement, innovation and personnel, all of which the government will adopt.
Pushing it a bit with that headline, so far very little has actually been announced that hasn’t already been announced!
Quite right. Don’t get me wrong, the SSN announcement is wonderful news and will be pleasing to all of us here who have long called for this…but deafening silence on the army, on P-8s, Tempest, MRSS and FSS, T31 extra orders (although isn’t the surface fleet supposed to increase to 25 now?) and the curious F-35A semi-news
That SSN announcement could very easily mean 12 between us and Oz which is nothing we didn’t already know. Everything announced so far came prior to today, the factories were announced over the weekend.
It doesn’t. The announcement specified that the subs would be built in the UK. Given that Australia intend to build their boats domestically, the 12 built here must be intended for the RN.
Or mean not 12 at all….
“Up to twelve”: there are a lot of other numbers between one and twelve and this sounds a bit too fuzzy. It’s a positive move in the right direction but way short of a solid commitment.
there should be a committment for a front line fleet of no less than 30 surface combatants and the commitment to maintain it at that number.
Yeh that’s not happening….
would have been nice to see upgrades to the carriers, such as EMALS and the addition to defensive missile systems.
An army ten times more lethal by 2035!
Shouldn’t be too hard to achieve, given it’s current lamentable state 🙁 Just buy some guns for the RA and you’s be half way there!
Only, slightly tongue in cheek.
Cheers CR
😁
I was hoping for some indication of follow-on orders for the Army’s fighting vehicle fleets. Admittedly, there is not much need until the current Boxer and Ajax orders are completed but there will need to be a sizable increase. The RN will receive more subs but an increase in Type 31 orders would be encouraging, though we can only hope for one or two extra Type 26 due to their high costs. Some military theorists believe the West has around five years to make good the lack of investment before it will be tested again by Russia.
motivation for the support industries to up their game.
Seems pretty clear the navy is the major winner thus far, 12 SSN’s, 25 Surface combatants and no change to carriers.
Amphibious fleet will be the big question mark for later today. The 6 extra surface combatants is strangely close to the 6 MRSS, I have heard via little bird today that Rosyth is likely to do well.
Seems like the Army has had a hard time arguing for an increase in personnel because it is around 2,000 below its current authorised numbers with no improvement. Hard to justify going to 100,000 when you can only recruit 70500 out of an allocation of 73,000.
Seems the generals idea to fix the problem was just to through more cash and hope more people joined or stayed. Probably not the answer the Treasury was looking for.
We’re an island. For me its clear RN and RAF come first.
Agreed, but we shouldn’t forget that the British have employed a strategy of forward defence for centuries, fighting overseas (particularly in Europe) to defend its allies and interests before our enemies could threaten our homeland. 1940 to 1943 / 44 was a very tense time for the UK because we could maintain a foothold in Europe.
Cheer CR
True but a small highly mobile well equipped powerful fighting force that can be deployed to reinforce allies on the continent makes more sense in the current situation where funds are limited and we are facing a changed threat environment. Naval, air and anti air assets should be our priority along with cybersecurity. We rely on NATO allies to provide land muscle while we protect their Northern approaches in return and provide an additional nuclear deterrent capacity. We cannot do everything in this day and age and we need to work with Allies to provide complimentary defence that is greater than the sum of its parts.
I agree Bonzo, but I think in the medium to long term we will need to rebuild the Army significantly.
As for recruits, I am not so sure there is a problem with people not wanting to join up, rather there is a problem with the armed forces being overly fussy or the recruitment system taking too long or both..!
I read somewhere a while back the the RN was getting a few 10’s of people per day expressing an interest / volunteering, so why can’t they get more in through the door and trained up? True the population is overweight, as an example, so extend the training time to bring them up to fitness! However, I think it is the time it takes to get them through the door over a year at one point. Kids can’t sit around for a year waiting for a job! Hardly surprising they walk into another job!
Cheers CR
In the good old days you use to go to the pub, find a shilling in your beer cup and join the navy by the morning.
Far too fussy now a days.
True, but we do need to be able to put a best effort meaningful division into Europe of needed and maintain essential a ongoing brigades worth of battle groups..as well as commitments across the globe.. so an army of 6 deployable brigades is a sort of min standard.
Problem is brigades keep getting more capable and more complex but the army’s basic unit of measurement (boots) does not change, brigades today are much bigger than brigades in WW2 where as warships have much smaller crews.
Fact is there are only so many people that want to be in the military full time during peace time.
The army can’t recruit enough even for its reduced force.
I was in the peace time army (TA) and if I’m being honest it felt pretty shit so I left. (2001 just before it all kicked off)
I can understand why there is a limited appetite for recruits and that’s before you add in CRAPITA and Army culture.
believe it when it’s happens another regiment of Gurkhas could be recruited in week
😁when80 percent of the UK imports and exports being by sea it highlights the lamentable attitude to the royal navy in the past 50 years is proven
We are creating a hybrid navy, it will include ships, submarines and aeroplanes.ROFL🤣
😁. percent of the UK imports and exports being by sea it highlights the lamentable attitude to the royal navy in the past 50 year js proven.
Increases in P-8s, E-7s and major surface combatants are critical. But the submarine news is good.
It looks like buying British build is the way starmer is selling defence.. so not sure we will get more P-8s
more f 35b 5 more T31. needed and quicker to get using existing designs from anywhere that can provide them
Both of those are a good percentage British Andy..
indeed, good point
As we already have P8 adding even three more would be a massive boost without spending that much.
As for crewing when it comes to war the rule book goes out of the window.
It looks like for all the pushing of army army army they will not be getting the love.. it seems long range, strike capability to hurt, and the navy to control the seas are the name of the game as well as industry strategy and active defence against political warfare…
Essentially a broad brush of defence review priorities that could have been written in 1800… because an island nation that sits across a strategically important choke point, that acts as an international trading hub and is Living close to large set of continental powers will essentially always have the same basic geostrategic drivers.
UK defence is not rocket science.. it’s all about sea and airspace control and the ability to punish and strangle enemies…
Yes, back to basics with the historical strategy.
Always the same, never allow the enemy to operate near Britain itself and push the conflict onto their shores. Previously that meant blockading Toulon, now it means Atlantic Bastion and a greater presence in the High North.
I’m happy with that, as that fits with my RN RAF Intell first belief.
But the Army needs something. Let’s get 3 UK sorted with 3 proper Brigades with CS CSS, and 1 UK with 3 lighter Bdes.
That means a major reorg and some uplifts, we don’t need a BAOR.
And I’m still waiting for actual kit ordered, not jam tomorrow, which all of this is so far.
Ending the hollowing out…..so far, where?
Agree 6 deployable brigades, 3 heavy, 1 airmobile, 2 infantry/mec.. all with CS,CCS.. it’s not hugely ambitious but it’s the minimum requirement for the UK to put a meaningful division in Europe if needed.
It will be interesting to see what is in those 62 recommendations. There might be some numbers in there, hence the drip drip announcements, but the main data in respect of programs and numbers wouldn’t now be until the Autumn.
No indication of when the SDR report will drop that I can find.
Cheers CR
Very much so mate!
The speech is over. So when will the review drop?
According the the BBC, the SDR will be published this afternoon after a speech by Healey in the Commons.
Okay……. but still no commitment on increasing the immediate defence budget, no new hulls, aircraft, IFV, GBAD, etc being announced. Just words and platitudes so far. And probably loads of interminable trials.
ordering and type 31 frigates is an opportunity missed.T83 at the same time is fantasy.
I thought that there was to be a US input into the AUKUS partnership on SSN. This seems to imply that they have dropped out.
This is a UK SDR. Would you really expect the PM to be touting the fact that a higher proportion of submarine parts will be imported from the US?
takes the shine off everything else he says
As fare as I can see most of the subs will be UK in origin. The combat system will be an Australian variant of the US Virginia system. The missile VLS will be from the US. The Australians will have US weapons the UK will likely be UK kit. The PWR 3 reactor will be built in the UK. The PWR 3 is based on the reactor in the Virginia class but with UK technology too. So a blend of US/UK. The sensors are likely derived from the Astute fit. So overall there is not much more US input. The main thing is the use of a derivative of a US plant.
They are supplying Australia with some secondhand Los Angeles SSN as a stop gap – hopefully… There is also some confusion over where the AUKUS boats will have US C2 systems, for example, which would mean the UK could lose the ability to develop its own C2 systems in the future, but there is nothing that I have seen in the open press.
Certainly, since Trump has taken office US participation is open to doubt, but that might be a good thing as clarity might be a whole lot worse than vagueness and doubt, so may be we should keep shtum in case he takes an interest!
Cheers CR
The youngest LA class boats are already thirty years old. As I recall, they were going to sell the Aussies two secondhand and one new Virginia class, with the possibility of two more if SSN-A failed. Although the loss of Virginias troubles some, I think that’s still officially the position. The idea is similar to why the RN would be okay with Norway getting one of “their” T26s. Aus is a US ally and will be using the boats like the USN would have, so no harm done overall. Of course the US might station some LA class subs in Australia before that, and I believe we promised to have an Astute there part of the time too.
Ah, yes my bad – wrong class.
Yes, we have said we will deploy / base a boat in Australia for extended periods, but not permanently if I remember correctly.
My understanding is that the US has similar problems that we have been facing, with the need to increase production still an issue.
Cheers CR
CR,
Virtually as important to reduce USN SSN/SSBN maintenance/refit backlog. That is where enhanced/expanded RN, and eventually RAN, maintenance facilities will factor into the overall pkan.
The USN had planned to sell two or three earlier block Virginia class subs,
to RAN by 2030, I have not heard of any more news if that transfer will still take place?
Where is the urgency why am i hearing that Russia are a threat now to Nato but the UKG is not putting its money where its mouth is !! how can the nation step up if the government is so naive with defence ?
SDR day so far:
Possibly have 12 submarines In over 20 years
Refurb some houses
Save the best till last though…
“ten-times more lethal” force by 2035.
It’s “up to” the six new ROF and “up to” 25 surface combatants and “up to” 12 new SSN
Translating from these classic bits of MoD-speak it’s going to depend on how much the MoD wastes on trying to fit the German RCH155 on the Boxer chassis
David, surely the Germans already fitted RCH-155 onto the Boxer chassis. Bundeswehr trialled it 2 years ago.
Indeed they did. But do not underestimate the ability of the MoD to turn the simple into the complicated and find ways to waste yet more taxpayers money in blatant attempts to justify grade creep and higher gold-plated pensions
You can’t expect us to fit it the German way! More seriously, prototypes aren’t always built to last as long as you’d expect operational equipment to last. I don’t know if we’ll be doing silly expensive things, but if we do something that won’t necessarily mean it will be silly. Expensive? Yeah. Always expensive it seems.
From what Rudeboy suggests elsewhere to me, the 6 “new” factories already exist. But, typically, they spin it.
Not “We’ll expand 6 existing sites to increase production” which doesn’t sound as good as “Building 6 new factories.”
The 25 might yet be rebadged MRSS, as I suggested yesterday, no actual increase, yet more spin.
The 12 SSN are decades away, many of us won’t be alive when we have 12, so Jam tomorrow as usual waiting to be watered down by future governments.
These speeches are designed to grab the headlines for the public while the military comentariat study realities.
The review will be published in full after 5pm today:
4.15pm: Urgent Question from the defence committee chair about the future of the UK’s nuclear deterrent;
5pm: Defence secretary statement on the Strategic Defence Review, with the document itself to be published shortly after.
Thank you
Nobody is commenting on the 15 billion for new warheads.
It’s absolute bullshit. The total amount to be spent by the nuclear authority to pay for the deterrent submarines is budgeted to be 31 billion. And we are to believe half of that amount will be spent in addition on just the missile warheads??
And, by the way, all this spending was already in plan and budget so not new news.
Smoke & mirrors.
Healey started out with the usual fiddling of the figures. I wish they would stop doing that.
– “Warfighting readiness means stronger deterrence.” Let’s hope it’s not too late.]
– Our carrier will carry the first hybrid airforce in Europe.
– Army 76,000 in this Parliament. 10 times as lethal.
– New Cyber Command
– A new partnership with industry… [a bit meaningless]
– Jobs, jobs and more jobs.
– Continuous submarine production
– £6bn in this parliament for missiles and ammunition.
– Leading edge in innovation
– Double investment in autonomy
– £4bn in a new innovation unit
– Defence Exports Office
– Defence Investment Plan (to replace Defence Procurement Plan)
– Increase cadets by 30%
– New strategic reserve force by 2030.
– £7bn this parliament on services accommodation.
According to Cartlidge he’s playing fantasy fleets. I’m glad we here aren’t the only ones.
And it’s here!
www .gov.uk/government/publications/the-strategic-defence-review-2025-making-britain-safer-secure-at-home-strong-abroad