On June 30, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled a defense investment plan, announcing an additional £15 billion in defense spending on top of current levels. Over the next four years, the UK’s total defense expenditure will approach £300 billion.

Keir Starmer stated on the same day that the United Kingdom is increasing its defense spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) from 2.3% in 2024 to 2.7%, with plans to further raise it to 3%.

Keir Starmer also announced a series of concrete measures, including allocating more than £5 billion to develop unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous weapon systems, establishing a £50 billion defense export financing facility, and investing £8.6 billion in the joint development of the Tempest fighter jet with Italy and Japan.

He also stated that, at last year’s NATO summit, the United Kingdom pledged to increase its broader national security spending—covering defense, energy security, and critical infrastructure security—to 5% of GDP, while the defense investment plan will raise this share to 4.2%.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves stated on the same day that the additional funds would be raised by reordering government spending priorities. She said that “national defense and war preparedness” have now become an urgent necessity.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the United Kingdom’s new defense investment plan on social media that day, stating that it would help the UK meet the defense spending targets it agreed with NATO last year.

According to reports, the plan was originally scheduled for release in the fall of 2025, but it has been repeatedly delayed due to disputes between the British Ministry of Defence and the Treasury over issues such as the scale of funding, the allocation cycle, and the sources of financing.