The United Kingdom announced plans on Sunday to construct up to 12 new attack submarines as part of a sweeping overhaul of its national defence strategy, aimed at countering increasing global threats, especially from Russia.
The new submarine fleet will be developed under the AUKUS military alliance with Australia and the United States, and is part of a broader £15 billion investment in Britain’s nuclear warhead programme, the government revealed ahead of the release of its Strategic Defence Review on Monday.
Speaking to BBC Radio, Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that the world is facing “greater instability on defence and security than there has been for many, many years” and that the UK must prepare for “a new era of threat”.
The defence review, led by former NATO Secretary General George Robertson, outlines a significant expansion in Britain’s military capabilities, including £6 billion in munitions spending, construction of at least six new weapons factories, and procurement of 7,000 domestically produced long-range weapons.
The government also pledged £1 billion to establish a new “cyber command” to enhance battlefield readiness and tackle the increasing number of daily cyberattacks targeting the country.
Defence Secretary John Healey, speaking in a separate BBC interview, highlighted “growing Russian aggression”, “new nuclear risks”, and “daily cyberattacks” as key motivators behind the military buildup. “We’re in a world that is changing now… and it is a world of growing threats,” Healey said.
The Strategic Defence Review calls for a shift in focus toward “war-fighting readiness”, force integration, and reaffirming the UK’s commitment to NATO. It also reclassifies Russia as an “immediate and pressing threat”, while describing China as a “sophisticated and persistent challenge”.
To finance the defence expansion, the Labour government confirmed it will reduce overseas aid spending. It has already committed to increasing defence expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with aspirations to hit 3% by 2029 — the largest sustained increase since the Cold War.
Although the review identifies threats from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea — labelled a “deadly quartet” by Robertson — Prime Minister Starmer’s public remarks and a recent op-ed in The Sun notably avoided directly naming China, signalling a shift in tone as the Labour government attempts to stabilise relations with Beijing.
The review is Britain’s first major defence reassessment since the Conservative-commissioned update in 2021, which was revised in 2023 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This latest blueprint, Starmer said, is intended to serve as a “plan for strength and security for decades to come.”
