The UK Defence Secretary has announced plans to increase the military force to at least 76,000 soldiers, emphasizing a commitment to reversing historical reductions in armed forces. This marks a significant shift, with Labour asserting they will not decrease military numbers further. Alongside this, the government is pledging to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, which hasn't been reached in 15 years. Investments will also be made to enhance military accommodation for families and develop advanced weapons systems like laser weapons for naval use.
This review is the first for a generation that doesn't look to hollow out our armed forces further. Instead, it looks to build out the forces, grow the forces and grow jobs.
That's a level we've not spent in this country for 15 years, and it's part of a record uplift in defence spending, the largest since the end of the Cold War.
I've been able to announce as well, because of the new investment we're putting into defence, we'll put £1.5 billion in this parliament to dealing with the scandal of military family homes that are unfit to live in.
I've announced today that in this parliament we'll put a billion pounds into putting the first laser weapons onto our ships, the first European nation in NATO that will have laser weapons able to shoot down at the speed of light, at the cost of a tenner a shot.
Collection
[
|
...
]