Overview
- Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton warned Keir Starmer before Christmas that an MoD assessment found a £28 billion gap to 2030, in a meeting also attended by the chancellor and defence secretary.
- The government has earmarked £200 million from the core defence budget to prepare UK forces for a potential Multinational Force deployment to Ukraine, funding vehicle upgrades, communications and counter‑drone protection.
- During a visit to Kyiv, Defence Secretary John Healey said Britain aims to be ready to lead the force and confirmed UK production of Octopus interceptor drones would begin this month.
- Officials are reworking the Defence Investment Plan, which was pushed back from late 2025 and is now widely expected to slip to March, to reconcile spending plans with higher costs.
- The MoD says defence spending will total £270 billion this parliament, yet pressure to find savings risks delays or cuts to major programmes such as Ajax as a historically small regular army raises capacity concerns.