Inside the UK's Plan to Pump Up Its Military

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday advocated for a plan that would see the UK make its biggest increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War, build new nuclear-powered attack submarines, and become "a battle-ready, armor-clad nation." Starmer was blunt about the main instigator of the move: Britain "cannot ignore the threat that Russia poses ... The threat we face is more serious, more immediate, and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War." More:

• The numbers: Should Parliament give the plan the green light—it is expected to do so—defense spending would rise from 2.3% of GDP to 2.5% by 2027, with a goal of reaching 3% of GDP in the following parliamentary term. The plans come in response to a strategic defense review that had been commissioned by Starmer.

• The impact at sea: NPR reports the plan calls for the development of a "hybrid navy" that would include as many as a dozen new nuclear attack submarines, plus upgraded aircraft carriers and autonomous patrol ships.
• The impact in the air: The plan also would see the development of a "sixth-generation" crewed fighter jet that would be able to coordinate operations with drones.
• The impact in the army: The British Army has just north of 70,000 combat-ready soldiers in its ranks, a more than 50% decrease from the end of the Cold War. NPR says the planned increase would be "modest," and the AP adds the numbers wouldn't begin to rise until the early 2030s.
• The production impact: Six new factories that could support an "always on" supply line for munitions are to be built.
• Historical note: The British government has carried out at least one review of its defense policy in every decade since WWII. NPR notes that following the UK's last major defense review in 2021, then-PM Boris Johnson declared the era of "fighting big tank battles on European landmass" had ended. Three months later, Russian tanks entered Ukraine.
• One perspective: CNBC writes that "analysts and economists argue that, while the UK's defense plans are welcome news in uncertain times, they could ultimately prove to be too little, too late—and that they might be potentially difficult to deliver, given fiscal constraints in the UK." It elaborates on why here.