UK to expand submarine fleet as defence review calls for 'warfighting readiness'
By William James
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain will increase the size of its nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet, the government has announced ahead of a defence 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 defence capabilities after U.S. President Donald Trump told the continent it needed to take more responsibility for its own security.
Monday's Strategic Defence Review will call for Britain's armed forces to move to a state of "warfighting readiness", spelling out changing security threats and which defence technologies are needed to counter them.
"We know that threats are increasing and we must act decisively to face down Russian aggression," defence 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 Defence 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 programme 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 programme 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, U.S. 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 U.S. by Europe, Starmer has already committed to increasing Britain's defence spending in an attempt to reverse a long-term decline in its military capability.
He has promised to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and target a 3% 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 Defence 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 defence as a way to create jobs and wealth.
"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," he is expected to say in a speech launching Monday's review.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UK Eyes Greater Nuclear Role in Europe Amid Doubts About US
(Bloomberg) -- The UK envisages taking an enhanced role in NATO's nuclear deterrence amid doubts surrounding the US commitment to the alliance, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledges to make Britain 'war-ready' to counter Russian aggression in Europe. Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move At London's New Design Museum, Visitors Get Hands-On Access LA City Council Passes Budget That Trims Police, Fire Spending The government is exploring new capabilities such as fighter jets able to fire nuclear weapons as part of plans to boost Britain's nuclear contribution to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity discussing sensitive matters of national security. That move would come in addition to the renewal of the UK's existing Trident deterrent, a £15 billion ($20 billion) investment in nuclear warheads and the construction of as many as 12 new submarines as part of the AUKUS partnership with Australia and the US. It's reflective of a wider sense of urgency among European leaders about the need to step up defense spending due to doubts about the US commitment to European defense under President Donald Trump's leadership. Britain's investment in its nuclear deterrent and the wider European focus on the issue comes 'in the context of fears of diminished US commitment to provide nuclear deterrence to its allies,' William Alberque, senior fellow at the Pacific Forum in Berlin, said in a phone interview. 'It's to offset the risks of US detachment.' Commencing discussions with the US on shouldering more of the burden of NATO's nuclear deterrent is one of the key recommendations in the government's Strategic Defence Review published Monday. The document set out plans for an overhaul of Britain's military to put it on a war-footing. European nations are having to adjust to Trump urging them to contribute more to their own security, a stance that has also prompted the continent to re-think how it approaches nuclear weapons. 'I don't think there's any expectation at this particular point that the US is going to step back from its nuclear commitment to Europe but it's obvious that the US is going to do less across the board on security for Europe,' according to Fiona Hill, one of the authors of the defense review and a former adviser on Russia to the previous Trump administration. 'That inevitably brings up questions about the nuclear deterrent: The French are willing to do more in conjunction with the UK and I think this will be a major discussion across Europe,' Hill told Bloomberg in an interview. Trump has demanded NATO members spend 5% of economic output on defense — more even than the US spends now, and up from the alliance's current 2% guideline. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, meanwhile, is proposing members spend at least 3.5% on core defense activities. In March, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would open talks with European allies on extending France's nuclear umbrella over the continent, given concerns that the US would withdraw its protection. Polish prime minister Donald Tusk has said he has had serious talks about Macron's proposal to use Paris's nuclear capabilities to defend Europe. While the UK and France are the only nuclear powers among European members of NATO, Britain is the only country in Europe that currently assigns its capability to the defense of NATO. The UK's current nuclear capability is limited to submarine-fired nukes, rather than air- and land-based delivery systems, which other allies like the US hold. 'The problem with Trump is that he's deeply unreliable: he might turn up and support us, but he might not, and that's not what you need in a security alliance,' said Mike Martin, a former British Army officer who now serves as a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament and sits on the Defence Select Committee. Speaking ahead of the defense review's publication on Monday, Starmer said he was '100% committed' to Britain's nuclear deterrent and its future capability. 'There has been a sense that the balance between Europe and the US has to be reconsidered and there has to be a greater burden on Europe,' Starmer told BBC Radio on Monday, referring to NATO members. 'They have a point. We collectively need to step up.' The defense review published Monday said Britain is 'well-placed' to take on a greater role providing deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic, and comes as the US confronts the 'unprecedented challenge of facing two near-peer nuclear powers, Russia and China.' The UK's Trident deterrent consists of four ballistic missile submarines, with at least one patrolling the seas undetected at all times. (Adds comments from Hill, Martin starting in seventh paragraph) YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To Will Small Business Owners Knock Down Trump's Mighty Tariffs? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Associated Press
44 minutes ago
- Associated Press
UK government ready to take Abramovich to court over Chelsea sale proceeds for Ukraine
Three years after Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was forced to sell Premier League club Chelsea, the British government said on Tuesday it was prepared to go to court to ensure the proceeds reached war victims in Ukraine. Abramovich was sanctioned in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and sold two-time Champions League winner Chelsea to a consortium fronted by Americans Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) in May of that year. Abramovich said before the sale that net proceeds would go to a charitable foundation 'for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.' But the money remained frozen in a bank and the British government said it was still to make its way to those in need. A joint statement by Treasury chief Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the government was ready to mount legal action. 'The government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine, following Russia's illegal full-scale invasion. We are deeply frustrated that it has not been possible to reach agreement on this with Mr Abramovich so far,' they said. 'While the door for negotiations will remain open, we are fully prepared to pursue this through the courts if required, to ensure people suffering in Ukraine can benefit from these proceeds as soon as possible.' Abramovich was sanctioned when the British government targeted what then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss described as 'oligarchs and kleptocrats' with close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin and 'complicit in his aggression.' The funds from the sale, however, still belong to Abramovich even though they are frozen. They cannot be used or moved without the issue of a licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. The government insists they must be used for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine. ___ James Robson is at ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
UK will be forced to increase defence spending to 3.5% to keep US on side, Sky News understands
The UK will be forced to agree this month to increase defence spending to 3.5% of national income within a decade as part of a NATO push to rearm and keep the US on side, Sky News understands. The certainty of a major policy shift means there is bemusement in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) about why Sir Keir Starmer's government has tied itself in knots over whether to describe an earlier plan to hit 3% of GDP by the 2030s as an ambition or a commitment, when it is about to change. The problem is seen as political, with the prime minister needing to balance warfare against welfare - more money for bombs and bullets or for winter fuel payments and childcare. Follow live updates: Sir Keir is due to hold a discussion to decide on the defence spending target as early as today, it is understood. As well as a rise in pure defence spending of 3.5% by 2035, he will also likely be forced to commit a further 1.5% of GDP to defence-related areas such as spy agencies and infrastructure. Militaries need roads, railway networks, and airports to deploy at speed. This would bolster total broader defence spending to 5% - a target Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, wants all allies to sign up to at a major summit in the Netherlands later this month. It is being referred to as the "Hague investment plan". Asked what would happen at the summit, a defence source said: "3.5% without a doubt." Yet the prime minister reiterated the 3% ambition when he published a major defence review on Monday that placed "NATO first" at the heart of UK defence policy. The defence source said: "How can you have a defence review that says NATO first and then be among the last of the alliance's 32 member states - along with countries like Spain - to back this new goal?" Unlike Madrid, London presents itself as the leading European nation in the alliance. A British commander is always the deputy supreme allied commander in Europe - the second most senior operational military officer - under an American commander, while the UK's nuclear weapons are committed to defending the whole of NATO. Even Germany, which has a track record of weak defence spending despite boasting the largest economy, has recently signalled it plans to move investment towards the 5% level, while Canada, also previously feeble, is making similar noises. The source signalled it was inconceivable the UK would not follow suit and said officials across Whitehall understand the spending target will rise to 3.5%. The source said it would be met by 2035, so three years later than the timeline Mr Rutte has proposed. Defence spending is currently at 2.3%. A second defence source said the UK has to commit to this spending target, "or else we can no longer call ourselves a leader within NATO". Read more: Sky News's political editor Beth Rigby challenged the prime minister on the discrepancy between his spending ambitions and those of his allies at a press conference on Monday. Sir Keir seemed to hint change might be coming. "Of course, there are discussions about what the contribution should be going into the NATO conference in two or three weeks' time," he said. "But that conference is much more about what sort of NATO will be capable of being as effective in the future as it's been in the last 80 years. It is a vital conversation that we do need to have, and we are right at the heart of that." New Sky News podcast launches on 10 June - simulates an attack by Russia to test UK defences Mr Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, said last week he assumes alliance members will agree to a broad defence spending target of 5% of gross domestic product during the summit in The Hague on 24 and 25 June. NATO can only act if all member states agree. "Let's say that this 5%, but I will not say what is the individual breakup, but it will be considerably north of 3% when it comes to the hard spend [on defence], and it will be also a target on defence-related spending," the secretary general said. The call for more funding comes at a time when allies are warning of growing threats from Russia, Iran, and North Korea as well as challenges posed by China. But it also comes as European member states need to make NATO membership seem like a good deal for Donald Trump. The leaders of all allies will meet in The Hague for the two-day US president has repeatedly criticised other member states for failing to meet a current target of spending 2% of national income on defence and has warned the United States would not come to the aid of any nation that is falling short. Since returning to the White House, he has called for European countries to allocate 5% of their GDP to defence. This is more than the 3.4% of GDP currently spent by the US. Mr Rutte is being credited with squaring away a new deal with Mr Trump in a meeting that would see allies increase their defence spending in line with the US president's wishes. The NATO chief is due to visit London on Monday, it is understood.
