Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a new Defence Investment Plan in Maidenhead on 30 June 2026, outlining a £300 billion investment over four years to strengthen the armed forces. The plan raises defence spending from £54 billion a year to almost £80 billion by 2029, a 27 % real‑term increase, and brings the share of gross domestic product spent on defence to 2.7 %. It also sets the wider security spend at 4.2 % of GDP. The government will invest more than £5 billion in drones and autonomous weapons, £500 million in new technology for special forces, and £115 million to counter artificial‑intelligence threats. The package creates nearly 60,000 jobs, reallocates capital budgets by one penny in every pound, and supports a £50 billion defence export facility.
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