UK running out of time to boost defense as investment plan stalls, military chief warns

LONDON — Britain is running out of time to boost its defenses in response to the threat posed by recent Russian actions, the country’s military chief said on Friday, after months of delays to the country’s Defence Investment Plan.

“Russia is definitely raising the stakes and risks crossing a line,” Chief of the Defence Staff Richard Knighton told BBC Radio. “We need to spend more on defense and do it faster.”

The Defence Investment Plan will lay out the funding for military equipment and services to ensure the armed forces move to a state of “warfighting readiness,” but reports say it has been held up since last year by budget rows within the government.

Defence Minister John Healey said on Monday that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was determined to publish it before a July 7 NATO summit.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called on Starmer and other European leaders to spend more on defense and become less reliant on Washington for the continent’s security, is due to attend the summit.

Threats greatest since the Cold War

Knighton said the risks and threats to Britain were greater than at any time since the Cold War, and the government needed to spend on defense accordingly.

“The challenge for ministers is to make those difficult trade-off decisions,” he said.

Media reports say military chiefs have warned Starmer that there is a £28 billion ($38 billion) shortfall in funding over the next four years, and say that is behind the delay to the investment plan.

Starmer has pledged the largest sustained increase in defense spending since the Cold War, aiming to lift it to 3% of national output in the next parliament, but he has been criticized for not following through on his promises.

George Robertson, who served in the 1990s as Britain’s defense secretary and then as chief of NATO, said in April that there was a gap between Starmer’s rhetoric and action and he was “not willing to make the necessary investment” in defense.

Knighton said Russia was stepping up its threat, with more incursions into British airspace and through regular “probing, challenging, testing” of defenses, as well as being behind cyberattacks, sabotage and attempts to steal technology.

“We do need to step up and enhance our capability as the threats from potential adversaries grow,” he said.

伦敦——英国军方首脑周五表示，英国没有足够的时间来加强国防，以应对俄罗斯最近的行动所构成的威胁。此前，英国的国防投资计划已经推迟了数月。

英国国防参谋长理查德·奈顿在接受BBC广播电台采访时表示：“俄罗斯无疑正在提高赌注，并有可能越过底线。我们需要增加国防开支，而且要加快步伐。”

国防投资计划将制定军事装备和服务的资金方案，以确保武装部队达到“战备状态”，但有报道称，该计划自去年以来一直因政府内部的预算争论而搁置。

国防部长约翰·希利周一表示，首相基尔·斯塔默决心在7月7日北约峰会之前公布这份文件。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普将出席此次峰会，他曾多次呼吁斯塔默和其他欧洲领导人增加国防开支，减少欧洲大陆对华盛顿的安全依赖。

冷战以来最大的威胁

奈顿表示，英国面临的风险和威胁比冷战以来的任何时期都更大，政府需要相应地增加国防开支。

他说：“部长们面临的挑战是做出这些艰难的权衡取舍的决定。”

媒体报道称，军方高层警告斯塔默，未来四年将出现 280 亿英镑（380 亿美元）的资金缺口，并表示这是投资计划延迟的原因。

斯塔默承诺将自冷战以来最大幅度地持续增加国防开支，目标是在下届议会中将其提高到国民生产总值的3%，但他因未能兑现承诺而受到批评。

曾在 20 世纪 90 年代担任英国国防大臣，后担任北约秘书长的乔治·罗伯逊在 4 月份表示，斯塔默的言辞和行动之间存在差距，他“不愿意在国防方面进行必要的投资”。

奈顿表示，俄罗斯正在加大威胁力度，更多地入侵英国领空，并定期“试探、挑战、测试”英国的防御措施，此外，俄罗斯还参与网络攻击、破坏活动和窃取技术的企图。

他说：“随着潜在对手的威胁日益增长，我们确实需要加强自身能力。”