The Future of the Equipment Plan

Historically, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has published an annual Equipment Plan, where it sets out its spending plans on equipment procurement and support projects over the next decade to keep the nation secure. The Government revealed in 2024 that an Equipment Plan for that year would not be published, nor information about it provided to the National Audit Office, saying that this was because a Plan would not provide an accurate reflection of the Government’s spending plans. The Prime Minister announced in February 2025 that defence spending will increase to 2.5% of GDP from April 2027, with an ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament. The PAC believes the lack of a plan represents an unacceptable loss of transparency. Its report on the 2023-2033 Equipment Plan found the lack of a credible plan to deliver desired military capabilities, calling on the Government at the time to get better control of defence procurement. It highlighted the largest deficit ever between the MoD’s bu