UK unveils £15 billion defence boost in push for record military investment

The United Kingdom will allocate an additional £15 billion ($19.8 billion) to defence, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced while presenting the government’s defence investment plan.

“That was the right choice because the world has changed. National security is economic security,” Reeves said, adding that an additional £15 billion would be provided through the government’s spending review.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking after Reeves, said the move would bring total UK defence spending to nearly £300 billion over the next four years. Presenting the long-awaited defence plan, which had been promised a year earlier, Starmer stressed that the record level of investment would strengthen the country's armed forces and national security.

According to The Daily Telegraph, despite the announced investment, the UK will still lag behind several leading NATO members in terms of defence expenditure.

Starmer also said the government plans to increase defence funding by reducing investment in road infrastructure and energy projects, while ruling out the issuance of bonds to finance military spending.

He explained that strengthening the country’s defence capabilities requires tough but necessary decisions. As a result, funding will be secured through a redistribution of government spending, with the budgets of all other ministries reduced by 1%.

The prime minister also rejected proposals to issue government bonds to raise funds for rearmament.

Following the announcement, shares of several British defence companies rose on the London Stock Exchange. Shares of QinetiQ and BAE Systems, both involved in drone-related technologies, gained 7.2% and 1.85%, respectively. Shares of Rolls-Royce, which manufactures engines for large high-altitude military drones, rose 2.84%, while Babcock International and Chemring advanced 3.3% and 5.95%, respectively.

By Jeyhun Aghazada