UK to Invest Approximately 12.66 Trillion NTD in Defense, Focusing on Drones and Nuclear Deterrence

(Central News Agency, Medmenham, UK, July 30, Foreign News) Outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced today that the UK will invest nearly 300 billion pounds (approximately 12.66 trillion NTD) over the next four years to modernize its armed forces in response to escalating security threats.

According to Agence France-Presse, Starmer unveiled the long-awaited 10-year "Defence Investment Plan" (DIP), which includes increasing the procurement of drones and unmanned vehicles, as well as upgrading the UK's nuclear deterrent. He described the plan as his "political legacy."

Under the plan, the UK will increase defense spending by an additional 15 billion pounds by 2030. British intelligence agencies have warned that Russia may launch an attack on NATO member states before 2030.

Starmer stated that the nearly 300 billion pounds is a "record investment" that will address changes in the nature of modern warfare and comprehensively enhance the combat capabilities of the British military. He told the media, "From any perspective, this is a significant turning point in our nation's history and a political legacy I am proud of."

Starmer, who is expected to step down next month due to a loss of support from his Labour Party's Members of Parliament, also urged Andy Burnham, who is expected to succeed him as Prime Minister, to continue pursuing this defense commitment. Burnham, 56, a former Mayor of Greater Manchester, is expected to become Prime Minister in mid-July if he faces no challenge for the party leadership.

"I am very confident that this plan will serve as a foundation for future successors to continue developing," Starmer said.

The plan, put forward after months of internal consultations by the Labour government, aims to enhance the British military's combat power to counter the increasingly assertive military threats from countries like Russia, and the diminishing reliability of US security commitments.

Earlier this month, two ministers, including Defense Secretary John Healey, resigned over dissatisfaction with the defense plan, with Healey criticizing it for potentially making Britain "less safe."

Under Starmer's plan, the UK Ministry of Defence will invest over 5 billion pounds in the development of drones and autonomous systems over the next four years, including high-performance autonomous mine-clearing drones, small quadcopter tactical drones, and low-cost suicide attack drones.

The war in Ukraine and the conflict in Iran have highlighted the importance of unmanned combat systems. The UK Ministry of Defence noted that Ukraine currently uses approximately 200,000 drones monthly to defend against the Russian invasion; during the most intense period of the US-Iran conflict, about 700 attack drones were launched daily.

Furthermore, the plan will create a "hybrid" Royal Navy, using smaller autonomous vessels alongside manned vessels for missions, gradually replacing six aging destroyers.

Other initiatives include investing over 8 billion pounds to jointly develop next-generation stealth fighter jets with Italy and Japan, and allocating 64 billion dollars to upgrade the UK's nuclear deterrent.

US President Trump has called on NATO members to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDP by 2035 and reduce their reliance on Washington's security guarantees.

Starmer stated that this defense investment plan will increase British defense spending to 4.2% of GDP, but did not specify a timeline for achieving this.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed the announcement, posting on social media platform X: "A stronger British defense will make us all safer."

Bence Nemeth, a lecturer in defense studies at King's College London, believes that while the announcement is an improvement, it is "clearly still not enough," as most of the additional funding is allocated to existing large-scale projects rather than the development of new military capabilities. (Compiled by: Hsu Rui-cheng) 1150701)