Editorials

The Irish Times view on UK defence spending: a splurge of military spending

The plan poses challenges at a time when the government faces problems balancing its budget

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled new defence spending plans, saying the UK must be prepared for conflict. ] (Photo by Andy Buchanan - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled new defence spending plans, saying the UK must be prepared for conflict. ] (Photo by Andy Buchanan - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Thu Jun 05 2025 - 20:00

This week’s publication by the British government of its long-awaited strategic defence review (SDR) marks the beginning of the most significant reform and upgrading of the UK’s armed forces and defence since the second World War. The report, commissioned by prime minister Keir Starmer on accession to office, is a response to the dramatically changed security environment since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the perceived threat Moscow poses to Nato allies, and Donald Trump’s insistence on Europe paying its share of the costs of its own defence. The initial commitment is to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP this year, with an eventual target of 3 per cent.

The purpose of the SDR is sobering. It is to “increase national warfighting readiness”. It commits to a £15 billion investment in new nuclear warheads, and to 12 new attack submarines estimated at £2.6 billion each. Although land forces are not expected to increase, the report argues their lethality can be increased tenfold “by harnessing precision firepower, surveillance technology, autonomy, digital connectivity and data,” in part learning from Ukraine.

Nato ministers, moving in lock step with the UK, met on Thursday to ratify the organisation’s defence spending target for members at 3.5 per cent of GDP.

The SDR recommendations, accepted in their entirety by the British government, will cost some £67.7 billion by the end of the 2030s, posing huge challenges at a time when the government faces massive problems balancing its budget. Most controversially, the first casualty will be the slashing of the UK’s international aid budget .

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Ireland’s defence establishment will note that a major part of the UK’s strategic shift will be away from building expeditionary forces in favour of enhancing domestic protection, specifically by focussing on north Atlantic naval patrols to guard against Russian submarines. Ireland’s vital underseas cable networks should receive added protection – and pressure will come on the Government here to contribute to this effort.