Healey insists defence funding will rise to 3% target to meet review aims
Defence Secretary John Healey insisted he was '100% confident' that military funding would increase as promised to prepare the armed forces for the future.
The Strategic Defence Review recommended sweeping changes, including a greater focus on new technology including drones and artificial intelligence based on rising budgets.
The Government has committed to increase spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product from April 2027 but only has an 'ambition' to reach 3% during the next parliament, which is due to end by around 2034.
The authors of the review have suggested reaching that 3% target is vital to delivering their recommendations while US President Donald Trump has pushed for Nato allies to spend 5%.
Mr Healey denied he was gambling on economic growth to meet his target, telling BBC Breakfast: 'I'm 100% confident that we'll hit that 3%.
'The important thing for now is what we can do, and we can do now more than we've been able to do before, because of an extra £5 billion the Chancellor has put in to the defence budget this year and the 2.5% that we will deliver three years earlier than anyone expected.
'It means that a £60 billion budget this year will rise throughout this parliament and beyond.'
The Ministry of Defence announced a £5 billion investment in the 'kit of the future' following the publication of the review on Monday.
The funding includes £4 billion for drones and autonomous systems, and an extra £1 billion for lasers to protect British ships and soldiers.
A new era of threat requires a new era for defence.
The Strategic Defence Review marks a landmark shift in our deterrence and defence ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/EZtoHx6PGR
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 2, 2025
Mr Healey said the investment would provide 'the most significant advance in UK defence technology in decades' and 'ensure our armed forces have the cutting-edge capabilities they need to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world'.
Part of the investment will see the establishment of a new 'drone centre' to accelerate the deployment of the technology by all three branches of the armed forces.
The focus on drones comes as the technology has proved increasingly lethal on the battlefield in Ukraine, where it now kills more people than traditional artillery.
At a meeting of allied defence ministers in April, Mr Healey said the UK estimated drones were inflicting 70-80% of battlefield casualties, while on Sunday Ukraine launched a major attack on Russian airfields deep behind the front line using a fleet of small drones.
In addition to investment in drones and AI, the Government has announced an additional £1 billion for the development of 'directed energy weapons' (DEWs) during the current parliament.
This includes the DragonFire laser scheduled to be fitted to the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyers from 2027, with a similar system provided for the Army by the end of the decade.
DragonFire and other DEWs are intended to provide a lower-cost form of air defence against targets including drones, costing just £10 per shot compared with the thousands of pounds it costs to fire existing weapons.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump revives travel ban and restricts 19 countries
The Trump administration will restrict travel to the U.S. from 19 countries, the White House announced in a presidential proclamation on Wednesday, citing national security concerns. Effective June 9, travel will be fully restricted from 12 nations: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Partial restrictions will apply to seven others: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. In a video statement released on Wednesday, the president said an Egyptian man's recent fire attack on Jewish activists in Colorado highlighted the need for such restrictions. 'The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme danger posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas,' Trump said from the Oval Office. 'We don't want them.' Lawful permanent residents, athletes traveling for the World Cup and Olympics, and those who have already been granted asylum or refugee status are among the limited exceptions to the restrictions. Those with immediate family member visas, dual citizenship with a non-restricted passport, and United Nations and NATO visas are also exempt. This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Key GOP senator says Russia must be ejected from Syria
The Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Wednesday Russia must be ejected from Syria, warning that if Moscow maintains a presence in the country it will allow for Iran's eventual reentry. Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), speaking during a panel at the Hudson Institute, called for remaining Russian forces in Syria to be kicked out of the country, going further than conditions laid out by the Trump administration for engagement with the government of Ahmed al-Sharaa, who deposed long-time dictator Bashar Assad in December. 'The region cannot tolerate Moscow having access to the Mediterranean, to threaten the United States, NATO or other allies, Russia and Iran were complicit in Assad's atrocities,' Risch said in a speech at the conservative think tank. 'If we allow Russia to remain in Syria, it's only a matter of time until it becomes a back door for Iran to return again.' President Trump announced last month that he was lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria. The move came following the administration presenting the new Syrian authorities with a list of conditions to trigger sanctions relief, such as eliminating Assad's chemical weapons stockpile, cooperating with the U.S. on counterterrorism, and working to identify, find and return Americans disappeared in the country. But not included in that list was kicking Russia out of the country. While Russia has scaled down its presence in Syria since Assad's ousting, the Kremlin is working to maintain its military bases in the country. Risch said the U.S. needs to proceed with caution with the new the al-Sharaa government in Syria. Syria's new president is a U.S.-designated terrorist who had ties with Al Qaeda and ISIS, although he has since disavowed those terrorist groups. 'I see tremendous opportunity for Syria. Syria was historically and can again be a great and respected country. However, we need to ensure that with increased cooperation comes greater security for the American people,' Risch said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Big Take: What Poland's New President Means for the EU
Poland's election of a Trump-backed conservative nationalist president early this week is part of a larger shift to the right across the European continent: Much like in the US, conservative, nationalist and right-wing parties are gaining traction. On today's Big Take podcast, Bloomberg's Rodney Jefferson and David Gura discuss the growing cultural divide behind Europe's rising conservative movements and what their growth could mean for migration, climate policy and the future of the EU.
