Starmer vows ‘battle-ready’ Britain with 12 new attack submarines

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday unveiled sweeping defense reforms and spending increases, pledging to transform Britain into a “battle-ready, armour-clad nation” as he launched the findings of his government’s Strategic Defence Review at Govan shipyard in Glasgow. Among the rearmament measures is an announcement that the country will build up to twelve new attack submarines.

Speaking against the backdrop of Type 26 frigates under construction, Starmer announced plans to raise defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with an ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament “subject to economic and fiscal conditions.”

The increases represent “the largest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War,” the prime minister said.

The UK will significantly expand its nuclear-powered, conventionally armed submarine fleet, Starmer announced, with the government purchasing and UK shipyards building up to a dozen new SSN AUKUS-type vessels. Production was to be scaled up to allow a new sub to be launched every 18 months, the prime minister said.

It’s part of an ambitious industrial expansion program, also promising to build “at least six new munitions factories,” which the government says will generate over 1,000 jobs and produce “thousands of new long-range weapons,” supporting around 800 additional positions.

Just yesterday, the UK’s Defence Secretary John Healey announced that the government is planning to buy 7,000 new cruise missiles.

The review identifies three core priorities: shifting to “warfighting readiness” as the central purpose of Britain’s armed forces, strengthening NATO contributions through a “NATO first” policy, and accelerating innovation “to a wartime pace.”

Starmer also confirmed a £15 billion ($20.3 billion) investment in the sovereign warhead programme, the British nuclear weapons program, claiming it will create 9,000 jobs plus thousands more in the supply chain. This would constitute a “historic renewal of [Britain’s] nuclear deterrent.”

The United Kingdom maintains a submarine-based, nuclear second-strike capability, with British atomic warheads deployed in the world’s oceans at any given time.

The Prime Minister set an ambitious target to create “an Army which is ten times more lethal by 2035” through the integration of drones, destroyers, AI, and aircraft across all service branches. He promised to “end the hollowing out of our armed forces” while delivering “the biggest armed forces pay rise in 20 years.”

The government also plans to establish a “hybrid Royal Navy” that combines drones with traditional warships and submarines to patrol the North Atlantic, alongside investments in air and missile defense systems to “better protect these islands.”

Framing the spending increases as a “defense dividend” for working people, Starmer argued the investments would drive “jobs and investment throughout the country” while providing “local opportunities, skilled work, community pride.”

The announcement comes as Britain faces what Starmer characterized as threats “more serious, more immediate and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War,” citing war in Europe, new nuclear risks, and daily cyber attacks.

“We know that threats are increasing and we must act decisively to face down Russian aggression,” said Healey.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

荷兰海牙——英国首相基尔·斯塔默周一在格拉斯哥戈万造船厂发布政府战略防务评估报告时，公布了一系列全面的国防改革和增资计划，并承诺将英国打造成为一个“随时准备战斗、装甲坚固的国家”。重整军备措施包括宣布英国将建造多达12艘新型攻击型潜艇。

在 26 型护卫舰建造的背景下，斯塔默宣布计划到 2027 年将国防开支提高到 GDP 的 2.5%，并希望在下届议会期间达到 3%，但“取决于经济和财政状况”。

首相表示，这些增长代表着“冷战结束以来国防开支的最大持续增长”。

英国首相斯塔默宣布，英国将大幅扩充其核动力常规武装潜艇舰队，政府将采购并由英国造船厂建造多达12艘新型“海鸥”级核潜艇。首相表示，生产规模将扩大到每18个月下水一艘新潜艇。

这是雄心勃勃的工业扩张计划的一部分，该计划还承诺建造“至少六家新的军火工厂”，政府称这将创造 1000 多个就业岗位，并生产“数千件新的远程武器”，从而支持大约 800 个额外的就业岗位。

就在昨天，英国国防大臣约翰·希利宣布，政府计划购买7000枚新型巡航导弹。

该评估确定了三个核心优先事项：将“作战准备”作为英国武装部队的核心目标，通过“北约优先”政策加强对北约的贡献，以及加快创新步伐“达到战时水平”。

斯塔默还证实，英国将向其自主研发的核弹头项目（即英国核武器项目）投资150亿英镑（203亿美元），并声称这将创造9000个就业岗位，以及供应链上的数千个就业岗位。这将构成“英国核威慑力量的历史性更新”。

英国拥有潜艇核二次打击能力，随时都有英国原子弹头部署在世界各大洋中。

首相设定了一个雄心勃勃的目标，即通过整合无人机、驱逐舰、人工智能和飞机等技术，在各军种打造一支“战斗力提升十倍的军队”。他承诺“结束军队空心化”，并带来“20年来最大规模的军人加薪”。

英国政府还计划建立一支“混合型皇家海军”，将无人机与传统军舰和潜艇相结合，在北大西洋巡逻，同时投资建设防空和导弹防御系统，以“更好地保护这些岛屿”。

斯塔默将增加的开支包装成劳动人民的“国防红利”，并辩称这些投资将“在全国范围内推动就业和投资”，同时提供“本地机会、技术工作和社区自豪感”。

英国面临斯塔默所描述的“比冷战以来任何时候都更加严重、更加紧迫、更加难以预测”的威胁之际，这项声明随之发布。斯塔默列举了欧洲战争、新的核风险和日常网络攻击等问题。

“我们知道威胁正在增加，我们必须采取果断行动来应对俄罗斯的侵略，”希利说。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。