Image source, Ministry of DefenceImage caption, A Protector RG Mk1, a next generation remotely piloted aircraft used by the RAFByFrank GardnerSecurity correspondentPublished30 June 2026 The government has published its long-delayed defence investment plan (DIP) that outlines how much money it will spend on the UK's armed forces. An additional £15bn will go on defence – a total of £298bn over the next four years – and will include spending on the nuclear deterrent and new combat aircraft. But the extra money is less than the £28bn reportedly sought by defence chiefs, and both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have criticised the plan as underfunded. Here are the key points included in the 81-page plan, and what they may mean. The government has raised defence spending from £54bn per year when it took office in 2024, to £80bn by 2029 – a real-term increase of 27%, Ministers say that is the largest increase since the Cold War in the 1980s.
Published: June 30, 2026 5:43 pm
Source: BBC — Read original