Starmer said the long-delayed defense investment would improve the armed forces, which he described as "underfunded and insufficient to cope with current threats." He stressed that the investment does not violate the government's fiscal rules and will be funded by halting other projects.
Starmer described the cancelled road and energy grid projects as "important but not urgently vital."
The announcement of the plan was delayed several times due to disagreements over funding. Starmer had originally pledged to present the plan before the NATO Ankara summit scheduled for July 7-8. The delay deepened a political crisis that culminated in Starmer announcing his resignation last week. Defense Secretary John Healey had resigned in protest over insufficient resources allocated to defense.
Healey accused Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves of "failing to provide sufficient resources to defend the country in an increasingly threatening environment." Within the party, pressure mounted on Starmer to resign in favor of former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to take over leadership.
In an assessment to AFP, Starmer said the plan was a "game-changing investment" and expressed hope it would be one of the cornerstones of his political legacy.
The Ministry of Defense announced that under the plan, more than 5 billion pounds will be allocated to unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous systems over four years. It was noted that the investment would strengthen a wide range of capabilities, from advanced autonomous mine-hunting drones to small tactical quadcopters and low-cost kamikaze drones.
The ministry noted that the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have highlighted the role of drones and combat robots, reminding that Ukraine uses about 200,000 drones per month in its war with Russia, and at the peak of the war against Iran, 700 attack drones were launched per day in the Middle East.
Although Washington demands that allies increase military spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035, Starmer's plan only envisages a rate of 4.2 percent. The 15 billion pound package, which is well below the 28 billion previously requested by military leaders, together with other items such as 8 billion pounds for next-generation stealth aircraft and 64 billion pounds for nuclear deterrence modernization, constitutes the main burden of the budget.
