UK to Spend $20 Billion on Nuclear Warheads, Build 6 New Munitions Factories

The British prime minister said billions would be invested in a sovereign warhead program that would renew Britain’s nuclear deterrent.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks about defense during a visit to the BAE Systems shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland, on June 2, 2025. Andy Buchanan/PA Wire

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on June 2 that the government will spend 15 billion pounds (about $20.3 billion) on nuclear warheads and build six new munitions factories in a bid to improve its “warfighting readiness,” as he unveiled a strategic defense review in Glasgow, Scotland.

Starmer said the government would accept all 62 recommendations made in the review, which was led by former NATO Secretary General George Robertson and was set to be published later on June 2.

Starmer said he would create “a battle-ready, armour-clad nation with the strongest alliances, and the most advanced capabilities, equipped for the decades to come.”

The British defense minister said on June 1 that, as part of the review, the country’s nuclear-powered submarine fleet will be expanded, with up to 12 new conventionally armed vessels to be built.

Starmer said 15 billion pounds would be invested in a “sovereign warhead programme” that would renew Britain’s nuclear deterrent as the “ultimate guarantor of our safety and our security.”

While the UK claims operational independence over its nuclear deterrent, the country remains dependent on the United States when it comes to missile maintenance and warhead development.

Samuel Rafanell-Williams, communications officer for the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, told The Epoch Times in April: “The UK’s submarines regularly visit a port in Georgia, USA, to have these missiles loaded and serviced. The notion that the UK has an ‘independent’ nuclear capability is therefore a fantasy.”

In a statement published on June 1, John Healey, the British defense minister, said the government is strengthening Britain’s industrial base to “better deter our adversaries” and make the UK secure.

“The hard-fought lessons from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine show a military is only as strong as the industry that stands behind them,” Healey said.

MBDA British Deputy Managing Director Louise Holmes (R) shows British defense minister John Healey (L) a Storm Shadow missile on an assembly line at the MBDA factory in Stevenage, England, on May 31, 2025. Dan Kitwood/AP

During a visit to a plant where Storm Shadow missiles are assembled, Healey said the government planned to spend 6 billion pounds on munitions in the coming years, creating 1,000 jobs.

“Six billion over the next five years in factories like this which allow us not just to produce the munitions that equip our forces for the future but to create the jobs in every part of the UK,” he said.

The government said the prime minister has committed to spending 1.5 billion pounds to create an “always on” pipeline of munitions, meaning a continuous production line, according to the June 1 statement.

New Cyber Command

The government has also committed to creating a new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command, along with 1 billion pounds ($1.35 billion) of investment in “pioneering digital capability,” including the use of artificial intelligence.

In February, Starmer announced what he said was “the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War.”

He committed to dedicating 2.5 percent of Britain’s gross domestic product (GDP) to defense spending by 2027 and said he would target 3 percent within the decade.

On June 2, during an interview on BBC Radio 4’s “Today“ show, Starmer declined to guarantee that defense spending would reach 3 percent of GDP by 2034, saying he would not make it a firm commitment until he knew “precisely where the money is coming from.”

Luke Pollard, the British armed forces minister, told Times Radio, “I’ve got no doubt that we will get to 3 percent in the next parliament, as I’ve said a number of times.”

The next British election will take place in 2029, meaning the next parliament will last until 2034.

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump told the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, by video link, “I’m also going to ask all NATO nations to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP, which is what it should have been years ago.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told a side event at the meeting in January that Trump was right to request that members of the alliance spend at least 5 percent on defense.

In 2014, NATO set a target for all members to spend at least 2 percent of their GDP on their militaries by 2024.

Later this month at a NATO summit in the Netherlands, the alliance is due to set a new target, which is expected to be considerably higher. Rutte has suggested that it should be 3.5 percent of GDP.

Robert Jenrick, a shadow minister with the opposition Conservative Party, called on the government to raise spending to 3 percent of GDP by 2029.

Jenrick told Sky News, “We think that 2034 is a long time to wait, given the gravity of the situation.”