ROME — Britain’s defense industry chiefs have applauded the U.K. government’s pledge to beef up military spending, but some say they will wait to see the money before they give a standing ovation.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer this week announced the construction of 12 new attack submarines, six new munition plants and a new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command, as well as a host of other upgrades to Britain’s armed forces.
The boost in capabilities was outlined by a new Strategic Defense Review, which Starmer commissioned after being elected last July to prepare the U.K. for current and future conflicts.
Starmer also said the U.K.’s defense spending would increase to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, up from 2.3%, but said an ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament would be “subject to economic and fiscal conditions.”
That brought praise from Kevin Craven, the CEO of ADS, the U.K. defense, aerospace and space industry association, who said the Review showed the defense ministry “has a plan, and a good one at that.”
But he added, “Clearly, as with all such initiatives, what truly matters is the execution of this intent and the resources to fund it.”
There lay the rub, he added. “While the plan is strong, and there has been a lot of clarity around the government’s ambitions, some of the equivocation around the timings of increasing our defense spend to 3% of GDP is detrimental to the overall impact of the announcement.”
He added, “As government is clear that military performance shouldn’t be limited to meet a cost imperative, the first step to 2.5% by 2027 is very welcome but will not be sufficient.”
Clive Higgins, the chairman and CEO of Leonardo UK, also gave a thumbs up combined with a word of caution in a released statement.
“We welcome the proposed ‘new partnership with industry’ outlined in the strategy, with defense suppliers rewarded for productivity and investment onshore,” he said.
He added, “Of course, such strong words from the government must be backed by equally strong action. We have previously seen defense reviews lionize U.K. industry but then fail to take the next step and invest. The defence investment plan must be adequately funded in order to deliver the ‘innovation at a wartime pace’ required by the strategy. We must see more nimble and partnership-based procurement, harnessing the U.K.’s market power for the good of our own onshore industry.”
Higgins said, “With all this in place, I believe that we will be able to meet this challenge, because the U.K.’s defense industry is, like our armed forces, world class.”
Other U.K. CEOs were keen to give no-ifs, no-buts praise, including BAE Systems CEO Charles Woodburn, who said, “We welcome the review, including the government’s commitment to the largest sustained increase in defense spending since the Cold War.”
In comments made after the release of the Review, Woodburn said industry could now invest in production, safe in the knowledge the UK government would buy its wares.
“This clear demand signal gives our sector the confidence to invest in boosting capacity, driving efficiencies and developing cutting-edge technologies to meet evolving requirements for the U.K. and our allies, while driving economic growth through exports and thousands of highly skilled jobs across the country,” he said.
Thales UK CEO Phil Siveter was equally upbeat, claiming, “On the back of this SDR, we will create new, highly skilled jobs across all parts of the U.K.”
He added, “This Review is a call to action. Thales is ready.”
Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.
