The UK’s June 30 Defense Investment Plan (DIP), rushed out ahead of the July 7-8 NATO summit in Turkiye, was meant to demonstrate that Britain is serious about rearmament. Instead, its rollout exposed how strained that commitment already is—both financially and institutionally.
Amidst immense domestic turmoil, the final version of the DIP agreed to £15 billion in new defense spending through 2029-2030, bringing the total to £298 billion and pushing defense spending to 2.7% of GDP by 2027-2028—the highest share since the 1990s. This remains well short of the 3.5%-by-2035 target NATO allies set at last year’s Hague summit, and the government admits that just reaching 3% is its “number one priority” before the 2027 Spending Review.
Illustrating the struggle to reach an agreement on this, an earlier version of the plan was judged so inadequate that it triggered the resignation of Defense Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns in early June. Healey could get only £13.5 billion in additional defense spending, which was reportedly too little for what was needed, reported GB News.
