Labour set to unveil ten-year plan to get Britain ready for war... but critics say the Government is not going far enough
Labour 's defence review plunged into disarray on Friday night in a row over how it will be funded.
The Government's ten-year defence plan will be announced on Monday and promises to make Britain ready for war.
But well-placed sources said key recommendations could be 'unaffordable' after an apparent row over whether a target of spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence will be reached.
Ministers unveiled plans to build six munitions factories in the UK and produce 7,000 long-range weapons, including attack drones and precision missiles.
The first factory will be up and running in the next few years, sources said, and all six sites will be ready in this Parliament.
Some £1.5 billion will also be provided to build the factories. Ministers said the plans will create more than 1,000 new jobs.
Defence Secretary John Healey said it was time for Britain to 'move to warfighting readiness to deter our adversaries' and that the measures he is announcing are a 'message to Moscow'.
The new weapons will include drones that can fly across borders and launch an attack on Russia from Britain's base in Estonia, government sources said.
They will also include long-range missiles such as Storm Shadows, and could feature hypersonic missiles that travel faster than the speed of sound.
Writing in The Mail on Sunday, Mr Healey said the UK-built 7,000 weapons are aimed at 'deterring adversaries like Russia'.
But critics warned that the Government was not going far or fast enough.
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the review was a 'damp squib', adding: 'Labour have wasted almost a year on a Strategic Defence Review to conclude what we all knew last summer – we urgently have to order more munitions, given the threats we face and the need to replace the stockpiles we rightly provided to Ukraine.
'Far from acting at the pace and scale required, Labour have dithered and delayed.
'The fact is the Treasury has used the defence review to delay taking action, prioritising penny-pinching over rapid rearmament.' Labour was also forced to deny a split over defence funding at the heart of Cabinet.
Mr Healey told The Times on Friday he had 'no doubt' that the 3 per cent of GDP target will be reached 'in the next Parliament'.
But this comment was at odds with the official position – that the target will be hit 'when economic conditions allow'.
A government source privately accused the Defence Secretary of veering off-script to try to bounce the Treasury into a firmer commitment for his department.
But allies of Mr Healey said his comments reflected his 'vote of confidence in the Chancellor's economic performance'.
A source said: 'He was expressing an opinion, which is that he has full confidence that the Government will be able to deliver on its ambition to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence in the next parliament.'
Defence sources say the arsenal of 7,000 long-range weapons will be a deterrent against a future attack by Russia.
It is likely to include bunker-busting Storm Shadow missiles, which can travel at 600mph and use GPS tracking to hit targets precisely.
Defence insiders also claim the UK will order scores of the so-called Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW), which is replacing Storm Shadow and can be fired from warships, submarines or the RAF's Typhoon warplanes.
One variant of this missile, which has been developed with France and Italy, is understood to have a booster which allows it to hit four times the speed of sound.
Meanwhile, in another announcement, The Mail on Sunday understands that British Army units based in Estonia will be equipped with hundreds of fearsome HX-2 kamikaze drones.
The distinctive 'X-wing' drones have a range of more than 60 miles and would be used to destroy tanks and bunkers as well as attack enemy helicopters.
They will be built by a German company called Helsing, which is expected to open a secret factory in the UK.
It is understood the drones, which cost around £100,000 each and use artificial intelligence to evade air defences, will be eventually rolled out across the Army.
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