With the defense plan, London accelerates on Gcap but also raises many doubts.
Yesterday, at the last minute – after months of delays and controversies – the government of the now outgoing Keir Starmer presented the new multi-billion extra investment plan for defense and rearmament (Dip). Downing Street thus confirmed an investment of £8.6 billion over the next four years for the Global Combat Air Programme (Gcap), the joint program with Italy and Japan for the development of the sixth-generation fighter jet expected to enter service from 2035.
The funding will allow the three partners to sign a multi-year contract with industry covering design and development, after months of delays and diplomatic pressure from Tokyo. Recently, the Financial Times revealed last March that Japanese authorities are increasingly doubtful about London’s commitment to the project.
The new Defence Investment Plan (Dip) also includes the purchase of 12 F-35A fighters and increased investments in the nuclear deterrent, land programs, and unmanned capabilities.
A long-awaited document, but one that has already sparked negative comments in the country: an initiative judged not only below the needs voiced by the military and the initial promises of the outgoing prime minister, but above all not fully funded, according to British media.
According to press reports, Starmer’s rearmament plan does not convince, leaving a £5 billion black hole for successor Andy Burnham.
All the details.
£15 BILLION FOR UK DEFENSE
On June 30, British Prime Minister Starmer committed to allocate an additional £15 billion ($20 billion) with the aim of consolidating its deterrence capability.
In what will likely be his last major political announcement, Starmer stated that the planned spending increase over the next four years goes beyond a previous draft that had prompted his ally, John Healey, to resign as Defence Secretary this month, reports Reuters.
In reality, the Dip does not reach the £28 billion requested by defense leaders and represents a 5% increase in annual defense spending, which will reach £79 billion per year by 2029. Starmer will present it in Ankara at a NATO summit on July 7 and 8. However, with his designated successor, Andy Burnham, expected to take office as early as July 20, Starmer acknowledged that new governments could “develop” his plan.
All this while the firm commitment to bring the defense budget to 3.5% of GDP by 2035 (4.2% when including “security” expenditures) does not yet erase the failure to meet the nearer-term 2030 target: the year in which the UK is expected to stop at 2.7% against the 3% already guaranteed at NATO.
RESOURCES ALLOCATED FOR GCAP
Presenting the new Defence Investment Plan, Starmer highlighted that the United Kingdom will invest £8.6 billion in the stealth sixth-generation fighter program Tempest, developed within the Global Combat Air Programme (Gcap), the trilateral partnership also involving Italy and Japan.
The resources will be allocated over the next four years and will allow the continuation of development activities for the air combat system.
WHERE THE PROGRAM WITH ITALY AND JAPAN STANDS
The Gcap program started with the agreement signed between the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan in December 2023, which established a governmental organization (Gigo) and an industrial alliance with a JV among the lead companies (Leonardo for Italy, Bae Systems for the UK, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for Japan), formed in December 2024, operational from June 2025 under the name Edgewing.
Within the framework of developing the new sixth-generation fighter, there has been a delay in signing the contract between the three governments involved in the program and the industries involved. Edgewing was supposed to obtain the first design contract by the end of 2025. However, the signing was postponed precisely due to the delay in publishing the British Defence Investment Plan, which was supposed to include the necessary funding for the program. The first contract, worth £686 million, was instead awarded last April.
STRENGTHENING AIR CAPABILITIES AND THE NUCLEAR DETERRENT
In addition to funding Gcap, Starmer announced the purchase of 12 F-35A fighters, the conventional variant of the fifth-generation aircraft.
The plan also includes increased funding for the British nuclear deterrent, which will rise to £64 billion to finance the new Dreadnought and SSN-Aukus submarines and a new nuclear warhead.
NEWS FOR THE ROYAL NAVY
Overall, the Dip provides for an allocation of £1.5 billion to develop a broader concept of a hybrid navy for the Royal Navy, combining autonomous vessels and artificial intelligence with warships and aircraft. The government has abandoned plans to replace the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers and will instead purchase at least six “Common Combat Vessels” that will serve as control centers for unmanned systems, with entry into service expected in the 2030s.
INVESTMENTS FOR LAND FORCES
Furthermore, the Defence Investment Plan dedicates significant resources to renewing land capabilities, as noted Breaking Defense.
The British government will invest about £2.2 billion for new Boxer 8×8 armored vehicles and another £1.1 billion to complete production of upgraded Challenger 3 tanks.
More than £500 million is also planned for new programs dedicated to Light Mobility Vehicles (Lmv) and future protected heavy vehicles, intended to replace current military Land Rovers and to complement a new 6×6 armored platform.
DRONES AND AIR THREAT DEFENSE
A portion of the investments will be dedicated to unmanned systems.
The plan allocates £150 million for the development of autonomous ground vehicles and another £220 million for Project Nyx, aimed at creating armed autonomous drones to operate alongside AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. An additional £200 million will be allocated to enhancing anti-drone capabilities.
DOUBTS AND CRITICISMS SURROUNDING THE DIP
Meanwhile, as Ansa reports today, UK media unanimously denounce the “black hole” of nearly £5 billion that the plan leaves as a legacy to Sir Keir’s announced successor, Andy Burnham, who is set to replace him as Labour leader and take office at Downing Street as the new prime minister in the coming weeks.
The Dip provides for additional defense investments of £15 billion spread over the next 4 years, aiming to bring the UK’s total military spending budget to £300 billion over the four-year period. Resources that, in Starmer’s words, will make “the British people safer,” deter war threats primarily attributed to Russia, modernize Her Majesty’s armed forces, and help make NATO “more European” without breaking “the transatlantic bond with the US.” But some of the funding is missing: as confirmed in a written Treasury statement signed by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, which specifies that “at the moment” funding sources have been identified for only £10.2 billion of the additional £15 billion.
As Reuters reports, defense leaders have stated that a funding shortfall of £28 billion is expected over the next four years and, since the £15 billion increase is insufficient to cover the entire amount, critics argue that some equipment will not be purchased or will be delayed, and there may be cuts to training, infrastructure maintenance, and logistics.
