Britain to build up to 12 new nuclear attack submarines to counter Russian threat

Britain will build up to 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines and invest £15billion in its warhead programme, the Prime Minister will announce on Monday. The Government is expected to accept 62 recommendations as part of the strategic defence review, including significant investment in the UK warhead programme this Parliament and maintaining the existing stockpile.

Building the submarines as part of the Aukus partnership with the US and Australia will support 30,000 highly skilled UK jobs into the 2030s as well as 30,000 apprenticeships and 14,000 graduate roles, claims the Ministry of Defence.

They will replace the UK's seven Astute class submarines, armed with conventional weapons, and will be in operation from the late 2030s, joining the four Trident submarines that carry the nation's at-sea nuclear deterrent.

Defence Secretary John Healey said: "Our outstanding submariners patrol 24/7 to keep us and our allies safe but we know that threats are increasing and we must act decisively to face down Russian aggression. With new state-of-the-art submarines patrolling international waters and our own nuclear warhead programme on British shores, we are making Britain secure at home and strong abroad."

The investment will back the Government's commitments to maintain the continuous-at-sea nuclear deterrent, build a new fleet of Dreadnought submarines and deliver all future upgrades. From the late 2030s, the fleet of SSN-Aukus conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines will replace seven astute-class attack submarines Britain is due to start operating.

The Government will also commit to getting the armed forces to a stage where theyare ready to fight a war, boosting weapons and equipment stockpiles and ensuring there is capacity to scale up production. It also plans to buy up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons, set up a new cyber command and invest £1billion in digital capabilities.

During a visit to a dockyard on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer will announce that the new fleet of attack submarines is part of the shift in Britain's deterrence and defence strategy. The UK is facing rising aggression from the likes of Russia.

Starmer is expected to say: "From the supply lines to the front lines, this government is foursquare behind the men and women upholding our nation's freedom and security. National security is the foundation of my Plan for Change, and this plan will ensure Britain is secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering a defence dividend of well-paid jobs up and down the country.

"This strategic defence review will ensure the UK rises to the challenge and our armed forces have the equipment they need that keeps us safe at home while driving greater opportunity for our engineers, shipbuilders and technicians of the future."

But the Tories raised questions over whether Labour would hit its promise of 3% of GDP of defence spending in the next parliament. Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge said: "All of Labour's strategic defence review promises will be taken with a pinch of salt unless they can show there will actually be enough money to pay for them.

"Whereas, far from guaranteeing the funding, John Healey has been hung out to dry by Rachel Reeves. As recently as Thursday, Healey promised that defence spending would definitely hit 3%, but today he's completely backtracked. These submarines are not due to enter service till the late 2030s, so how can we have any confidence Labour will actually deliver them when they can't even sustain a policy on defence spending for more than 48 hours?"

Defence Secretary John Healey yesterday declared that plans to boost the UK's military might were a "message" to Russia amid Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine.

He told the BBC's Sunday Morning With Laura Kuenssberg programme: "This is a message to Moscow as well. This is Britain standing behind, making our armed forces stronger but making our industrial base stronger, and this is part of our readiness to fight, if required."

He insisted that the promise to reach 2.5% of GDP spending on defence by 2027 and an "ambition" to hit 3% by 2034 were "enough to deliver the strategic defence review's vision that sets out tomorrow, and that vision is a transformation of Britain's armed forces". He insisted there was "no doubt" the Government would reach 3% in the next parliament.

But Mr Healey admitted he does not expect to make progress on boosting soldier numbers to 73,000 until beyond 2029. He said: "We've narrowed the gap, but we've still got more people leaving than joining. The first job is to reverse that trend and then I want to see in the next parliament our ability to start to increase the number."

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said he was "sceptical" as to whether Chancellor Rachel Reeves would make good on the plans to bump up defence spending. Mr Jenrick argued that the UK should reach 3% of GDP "within this Parliament".

He told the Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme on Sky News: "We think that 2034 is a long time to wait given the gravity of the situation. "John Healey is a good man who I've known for a very long time doing what needs to be done in the national interest. I am sceptical as to whether Rachel Reeves is going to make good on these promises that she wants us to go further and faster. Since the general election, all I can see are broken promises from Rachel Reeves."

An extra £1.5billion to repair and renew military housing has already been announced.