LONDON: Britain will increase the size of its nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet, the government has announced ahead of a defense review expected to say the country must invest billions to be ready and equipped to fight a modern war.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, like other leaders across Europe, is racing to rebuild his country’s defense capabilities after US President Donald Trump told the continent it needed to take more responsibility for its own security.

Monday’s Strategic Defense Review will call for Britain’s armed forces to move to a state of “warfighting readiness,” spelling out changing security threats and which defense technologies are needed to counter them.

“We know that threats are increasing and we must act decisively to face down Russian aggression,” defense minister John Healey said in a statement.

Britain will build up to 12 of its next-generation attack submarines, which are nuclear-powered but carry conventional non-nuclear weapons, to replace the current fleet of seven from the late 2030s, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Britain operates a separate fleet of submarines armed with nuclear weapons. The government for the first time said a pre-existing program to develop a new nuclear warhead to replace the model used by that fleet would cost 15 billion pounds.

“With new state-of-the-art submarines patrolling international waters and our own nuclear warhead program on British shores, we are making Britain secure at home and strong abroad,” Healey added.

The new submarines will be a model jointly developed by the UK, US and Australia under the security partnership known as AUKUS.

REVERSE DECLINE

In light of Trump’s decision to upend decades of strategic reliance on the US by Europe, Starmer has already committed to increasing Britain’s defense spending in an attempt to reverse a long-term decline in its military capability.

He has promised to raise defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027 and target a 3 percent level over the longer term. On Sunday he warned Britain must be ready to fight and win a war against states with advanced military forces.

In the days running up to the Strategic Defense Review, which Starmer commissioned shortly after taking office last July, the government has announced plans to spend billions on munitions plants, battlefield technology and military housing.

Juggling severely strained public finances, a slow-growing economy and declining popularity among an increasingly dissatisfied electorate, Starmer has sought to cast increased spending on defense as a way to create jobs and wealth. “This plan will ensure Britain is secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering a defense dividend of well-paid jobs up and down the country,” he is expected to say in a speech launching Monday’s review.

The government announced that Britain would increase its fleet of nuclear-powered attack subs. This announcement comes ahead of an upcoming defence review, which is expected to state that the country needs to invest billions in order to be prepared and equipped for a modern conflict.

As other European leaders, Keir starmer is also racing to rebuild the country’s defense capabilities, after U.S. president Donald Trump said that Europe needed to be more responsible for its security.

The Strategic Defence Review on Monday will urge Britain’s Armed Forces to achieve a “warfighting-readiness” state, highlighting the changing security threats as well as which defence technologies they need to combat them.

John Healey, the defence minister, said that “we know threats are increasing. We must act quickly to stop Russian aggression.”

The Ministry of Defence announced that Britain would build 12 of its nuclear-powered next-generation attack subs to replace the seven currently in service. These submarines will carry conventional, non-nuclear, weapons.

Britain has a separate fleet armed with nuclear missiles. The government announced for the first-time that a programme already in place to develop a replacement model of the nuclear warhead used by the fleet would cost around 15 billion pounds.

Healey continued, “With our own nuclear-warhead programme and new submarines patrolling the international waters, we make Britain strong at home and secure abroad.”

The new subs will be developed jointly by the UK and Australia as part of the AUKUS security partnership.

REVERSE DECLINE

Starmer, in light of Trump’s decision to end decades of strategic dependence on the U.S. from Europe, has already committed to increase Britain’s defence spending to try to reverse a decline in military capability that has been going on for a long time.

He has pledged to increase defence spending by 2.5% of the GDP by 2027, and to 3% over the long term. He warned that Britain should be prepared to win and fight a war with states who have advanced military capabilities.

The government announced that it would spend billions of dollars on munitions factories, battlefield technology, and military housing in the weeks leading up to Starmer’s Strategic Defence Review. Starmer ordered the review shortly after he took office, last July.

Starmer, who is juggling severely stretched public finances, a slowly growing economy, and declining popularity among an increasingly unsatisfied electorate has tried to portray increased defence spending as a means to create wealth and jobs. In a speech to launch the review on Monday, he will likely say that this plan would ensure Britain’s security at home and abroad while creating well-paid jobs across the country.

(source: Reuters)

UK to build up to 12 attack submarines as part of AUKUS programme in response to the rapidly increasing threats

Builds on £15 billion investment set out for the UK’s sovereign nuclear warhead programme, keeping the UK safe for generations to come and delivering on the Plan for Change

Nuclear investments will transform critical parts of the defence nuclear industry, directly supporting 30,000 highly skilled jobs up-and-down the country and the doubling of apprentice and graduate roles across the next ten years.

The Prime Minister will announce tomorrow that the UK’s conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine fleet will be significantly expanded, with up to 12 new SSN-AUKUS boats to be built.

The increase in submarines will transform the UK’s submarine building industry and, following the £15 billion investment in the warhead programme outlined, will deliver on this government’s Plan for Change, supporting 30,000 highly skilled jobs up-and-down the country well into the 2030s, as well as helping work to deliver 30,000 apprenticeships and 14,000 graduate roles across the next ten years.

The announcement comes as the government unveils its new Strategic Defence Review tomorrow. The externally-led review is expected to recommend that our Armed Forces move to warfighting readiness to deter the growing threats faced by the UK. The report makes 62 recommendations, which the government is expected to accept in full.

Responding to the report, the government will make significant commitments to its armed forces and deliver greater security for working people through the government’s Plan for Change.

That includes:

A landmark shift in our deterrence and defence: moving to warfighting readiness to deter threats and strengthen security in the Euro Atlantic area;

Increasing stockpiles of munitions and support equipment, ensuring that production capacities can rapidly scale up in response to crises or war;

The procurement of up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons for the UK Armed Forces, supporting around 800 defence jobs, and boosting our military capabilities

A new CyberEM Command to put the UK at the forefront of cyber operations, alongside £1bn investment in pioneering digital capability; and

Improving the lives of thousands of British military personnel and their families through more than £1.5 billion of additional funding to repair and renew armed forces housing.

The Prime Minister is expected to say:

From the supply lines to the front lines, this government is foursquare behind the men and women upholding our nation’s freedom and security. National security is the foundation of my Plan for Change, and this plan will ensure Britain is secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering a defence dividend of well-paid jobs up and down the country. This Strategic Defence Review will ensure the UK rises to the challenge and our Armed Forces have the equipment they need that keeps us safe at home while driving greater opportunity for our engineers, shipbuilders and technicians of the future.

Alongside the commitment to expand the UK’s conventionally armed attack submarine fleet, the government is securing the future of the Royal Navy’s Continuous At Sea Nuclear Deterrent, backed by a £15 billion investment into the sovereign warhead programme in this parliament and supporting more than 9,000 jobs.

It is the first time the UK has outlined the full scale of its investment plans in its warhead programmes and is further evidence of the Government’s triple lock commitment to the nuclear deterrent: to maintain our continuous at-sea deterrent; to build the new fleet of Dreadnought submarines; and to deliver all future upgrades necessary.

This will see significant modernisation of infrastructure at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston and supporting more than 9,000 jobs at the Berkshire site, and thousands more across the UK supply chain – from Scotland to Somerset.

The nuclear warhead programme includes some of the most advanced and sensitive science, engineering and manufacturing facilities in the UK.

Both the UK’s sovereign warhead programme and the UK’s conventionally-armed submarine fleet will make Britain and NATO safe for decades to come.

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:

Our outstanding submariners patrol 24/7 to keep us and our allies safe, but we know that threats are increasing and we must act decisively to face down Russian aggression.

With new state-of-the-art submarines patrolling international waters and our own nuclear warhead programme on British shores, we are making Britain secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering on our Plan for Change with 30,000 highly-skilled jobs across the country.

Already supporting more than 400,000 skilled British jobs, UK defence is a crucial engine for economic growth, delivering on the government’s Plan for Change – supported by the Government’s historic uplift in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP from 2027, and the ambition to hit 3% in the next parliament, when economic and fiscal conditionals allow.

Currently the UK is set to operate 7 Astute Class attack submarines, which will be replaced with an increased fleet of up to 12 SSN-AUKUS submarines from the late 2030s.

The boost to the SSN-AUKUS programme will see a major expansion of industrial capability at Barrow and Raynesway, Derby, with the build of a new submarine every 18 months in the future.

The increase in capacity at the two sites will allow the UK to increase its fleet to up to 12 attack boats, as part of the AUKUS partnership.

To ensure the demands of this expanded programme can be met, government is working closely with industry partners to rapidly expand training and development opportunities, aiming to double defence and civil nuclear apprentice and graduate intakes. This will result in 30,000 apprenticeships and 14,000 graduate roles over the next ten years.

The SDR calls for significant investment into the UK sovereign warhead programme this parliament, while maintaining the existing stockpile.