Overview
- The UK announced on Tuesday that it will contribute £8.6 billion over four years to the Global Combat Air Programme with Japan and Italy to develop a stealth next‑generation fighter aimed for first delivery in 2035.
- The newly published Defence Investment Plan sets a four‑year total of about £298 billion and adds roughly £15 billion to defence spending by reallocating some road and energy projects into defence budgets.
- The plan allocates more than £5 billion to unmanned and autonomous systems to accelerate drone development after lessons from recent conflicts.
- Implementation is uncertain because Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he will resign and key defence officials have left, leaving the funding, procurement schedule and any gaps open to revision by the incoming government.
- The document raises defence spending from about 2.3% of GDP toward 2.7% by 2028–29 but still falls short of some NATO peers and reflects earlier delays from disputes between the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury.