Overview
- An MoD assessment last year identified a £28bn gap to 2030, which Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton presented to Keir Starmer in a Downing Street meeting with Rachel Reeves and John Healey.
- The Defence Investment Plan, originally due before Christmas, has been pushed into early 2026 with some reports pointing to March as officials rework costings.
- No 10 says defence spending will total £270bn this parliament and did not dispute the reported figure, stressing work is under way on the plan.
- Military sources say cuts or delays are being weighed, with the Army seen as most exposed and the £6.3bn Ajax armoured vehicle programme cited as vulnerable.
- Officials attribute the gap to higher inflation, troop pay rises and nuclear deterrent costs, as UK commitments expand with support to a tanker seizure, a UK–France pledge on Ukraine and John Healey’s visit to Kyiv.