UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has always tried to sell the British military buildup as a jobs program. Yesterday’s unveiling of the Defense Investment Plan was no exception. “It will create nearly 60,000 extra direct and indirect UK industry jobs by the end of the decade, taking forecasted defence spending related jobs supported in the UK to more than half a million,” Starmer claimed in a press release issued by his office prior to the release.
Key projects in the plan include the following (among others):
More than £8 billion to build a new stealth fighter for the Royal Air Force being jointly developed with Japan and Italy.
More than £63 billion over the next four years to build up the UK’s nuclear arsenal, including for submarines, a new nuclear warhead and 12 F-35A nuclear capable stealth fighters and to join NATO’s nuclear mission.
Over £5 billion is to be spent on “a drone transformation” of the UK armed forces.
Almost £2 billion on an AI-enabled digital targeting system.
