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Defence Investment

Lifecycle: Implementation Cabinet Office · Defence Committee · HM Treasury · Ministry of Defence · Public Accounts Committee · UK Defence Innovation Last regenerated 1 month, 4 weeks ago

Summary

What this is

An evolving regime governing UK defence capital allocation, industrial-base support and procurement reform, anchored on the June 2025 Strategic Defence Review (62 recommendations), the September 2025 Defence Industrial Strategy and a forthcoming Defence Investment Plan that will operationalise a 10-year capital sequencing envelope.

Why it matters

The regime carries the largest sustained increase in UK defence spending since the Cold War — a path to 2.6% of GDP by 2027, 3% in the next Parliament, and a NATO-aligned 5% national security target by 2035 — and reorganises procurement governance (National Armaments Director Group, UK Defence Innovation, DE&S restructure) around it.

Current status

The SDR and DIS are published and being implemented (e.g. four of five Defence Growth Deals launched, UKDI operational, £140m drone investment), but the Defence Investment Plan — the load-bearing 10-year capital sequencing document — remains unpublished and is the subject of joint Defence Committee / PAC scrutiny over transparency and delay.

What changed recently

  • 29 Apr 2026 — Multiple PQs to Lords and Commons on DIP progress and pre-1 June 2026 publication go unanswered before prorogation, leaving the DIP timetable unresolved. →
  • 22 Apr 2026 — Northern Ireland £50m Defence Growth Deal launched, completing the fifth and final Growth Deal under the £250m DIS commitment. →
  • 20 Apr 2026 — MOD Permanent Secretary correspondence to PAC on F-35 capability, Reserve Forces' housing, Afghanistan Response Route and MOD ARA 2024-25 — concentrated PAC scrutiny letter set. →
  • 24 Mar 2026 — Defence Committee one-off oral evidence session on the impact of the DIP delay on industry, hearing from the National Armaments Director. →
  • 27 Apr 2026 — MOD confirms munitions factory feasibility studies will only conclude in August 2026; investment announcements slip to Q3 2026, with construction not before end-2026 — against an SDR commitment to at least six new munitions factories. →

Key documents

Framework

Operationalising

Implementation

Scrutiny

Other

Consultations

Stakeholders

Grouped by role with evidence. Long groups scroll inside their column.

Sponsoring department 3

  • Ministry of Defence → src
    Lead department; owns SDR, DIS, DIP, NAD Group, UKDI and DE&S; sponsoring department for the Growth Deals and munitions programme
  • HM Treasury → src
    Sets the spending envelope (2.6% GDP by 2027, ambition for 3% next Parliament); 30 March 2026 Permanent Secretary letter to PAC on NAO financial audit insights 2024-25
  • Cabinet Office → src
    Joint owner of Strategic Partnering Programme with MOD and of the public body review architecture supporting DIS implementation

Sponsoring minister 3

  • John Healey → src
    Secretary of State for Defence (still in post); issued Defence Reform WMS HCWS762 (1 July 2025) on UKDI establishment; delivered SDR oral statement 2 June 2025; named in Defence Committee correspondence on SDR/DIP
  • Luke Pollard → src
    Minister of State for Defence Readiness and Industry; delivered the 8 September 2025 Commons statement launching the DIS and led launches of the Scotland (£50m), Plymouth/South West (£50m) and South Yorkshire (£50m) Defence Growth Deals
  • Dan Jarvis → src
    Then Minister of State for Security (current status unknown — treat as historical); signed HCWS1550 on State Threat Prevention and Investigation Measures (29 April 2026); the Home Office is currently led by the relevant Secretary of State for the Home Department

Lead committee 3

  • Defence Committee → src
    Running affordability inquiry on the Defence Investment Plan; held one-off oral evidence session 24 March 2026 on the impact of the DIP delay on industry, taking evidence from the National Armaments Director
  • Public Accounts Committee → src
    Co-author with Defence Committee of the 28 January 2026 joint transparency letter on the DIP; conducting inquiry on MOD ARA 2024-25 following NAO's qualified audit opinion on £1.5bn of legacy projects
  • National Audit Office → src
    Conducting Work in Progress study on Affordability of the MoD's Investment Plan; C&AG qualified MOD's 2024-25 accounts in November 2025

Regulator / delivery programme 4

  • National Armaments Director Group → src
    Procurement governance unit established 1 April 2025 via HCWS573; NAD is responsible for end-to-end acquisition; gave Defence Committee oral evidence 17 March 2026 (HC 1779)
  • Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) → src
    Executive agency delivering equipment programmes; subject of 2025 public body review; Corporate Plan 2025-26 published 17 July 2025; commercial authorities delegated from NAD Group
  • UK Defence Innovation → src
    Consolidated innovation body formally established 1 July 2025, absorbing DASA, the Defence Innovation Unit and DE&S FCI; announced £140m drone/counter-drone investment December 2025
  • Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) → src
    MOD's science and technology arm, named in regional defence footprint and partnered on capability development including laser weapons

Witnesses & evidence-givers 6

  • BAE Systems → src
    Dominant prime contractor named across the UK Defence Footprint document — submarines (Barrow), combat air (Warton/Samlesbury), munitions (Glascoed, Washington, Radway Green), digital intelligence and warship support
  • Rolls-Royce → src
    Strategic supplier for military aero engines (Derby), nuclear submarine propulsion, blade casting (Rotherham) and turbines (Washington)
  • Babcock International → src
    Type 31 build at Rosyth, deep submarine maintenance at Devonport, carrier support — central to maritime industrial capacity referenced in DIS and SDR
  • Leonardo UK → src
    Helicopter manufacture (Yeovil), surveillance radar (Edinburgh), Lincoln EW academy; £1bn New Medium Helicopter contract anchors UK helicopter production capability cited in DIP scope
  • Thales UK → src
    Maritime autonomy centre in Plymouth, Crawley HQ, Belfast space electric propulsion centre; partner in Wales Defence Growth Deal autonomous technology launch
  • MBDA → src
    Missile systems manufacturer (Bolton, Stevenage), supplier of long-range weapons procurement under the £1.5bn munitions and energetics commitment

Commentator 12

  • Mr Speaker → src
    Chaired Commons debates on Defence Industrial Strategy, Defence Investment Plan and Defence Investment in Scotland across 2022-2026
  • Ben Obese-Jecty → src
    Conservative MP (Huntingdon); recurring oral questioner on when the Defence Investment Plan will be published, including 8 September 2025 and 16 March 2026 Commons sessions
  • Dr Andrew Murrison → src
    Conservative MP; tabled 2 February 2026 oral question on DIP publication timing
  • Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst → src
    Conservative MP (Solihull West and Shirley); raised DIP publication timing in Commons OQ on 16 March 2026
  • Ian Roome → src
    Liberal Democrat MP (North Devon); raised DIP progress in Commons OQ on 16 March 2026
  • Gregory Stafford → src
    Conservative MP (Farnham and Bordon); raised 15 December 2025 OQ on discussions with service chiefs about DIP spending
  • John Glen → src
    Conservative MP (Salisbury); 15 December 2025 OQ on service chief engagement with DIP spending levels
  • Kevin Bonavia → src
    Labour MP (Stevenage); recurring debate contributor on the DIS impact on Northern Ireland (Feb 2026 and October 2025 OQs)
  • Alex Ballinger → src
    Labour MP (Halesowen); spoke in 15 October 2025 Commons debate on DIS impact on Northern Ireland
  • Alex Easton → src
    Independent MP (North Down); spoke in 11 February 2026 DIS 2025 Commons debate
  • Alice Macdonald → src
    Labour/Co-op MP (Norwich North); spoke in 11 February 2026 DIS 2025 Commons debate on impact on Northern Ireland
  • Lord Forbes of Newcastle → src
    Tabled 3 March 2026 Lords oral question on the DIS 2025's impact on economic growth and job creation in English regions

Other 2

  • Matthew Patrick → src
    Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; spoke in February 2026 and October 2025 Commons debates on DIS 2025 impact on Northern Ireland and on the NI £50m Defence Growth Deal
  • Lord Robertson of Port Ellen → src
    Lead external reviewer of the Strategic Defence Review 2025 — named throughout SDR scrutiny correspondence and PQs

Political commitments

What parties and ministers have promised — manifesto pledges, King's Speech announcements, ministerial statements. Each card shows what was said, by whom, and when, with a link to the original source.

  • commitment Ministerial statement Labour · 2025 · UK Defence Footprint – Making Defence an Engine for Growth

    2.5% of GDP on defence by 2027; ambition for 3% next Parliament; 5% on national security by 2035

    the largest sustained increase to defence spending since the Cold War: 2.6% of GDP by 2027, an ambition to increase to 3% in the next parliament, as fiscal and economic conditions allow, and a historic commitment to spend 5% on national security by 2035 alongside our NATO allies

    Why linked: Defines the fiscal envelope inside which the SDR's 62 recommendations and the DIS's industrial commitments must be delivered.

    Source: UK Defence Footprint – Making Defence an Engine for Growth · Original ↗
  • commitment Ministerial statement Labour · 2025 · New munitions factories and long-range weapons to back nearly 2000 jobs under S…

    At least six new munitions and energetics factories under the SDR

    Procurement of up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons and £1.5 billion to build at least six munitions and energetics factories.

    Why linked: Headline industrial-base commitment of the SDR; delivery slippage is now visible in PQs (feasibility studies to August 2026, investment decisions Q3 2026).

    Source: New munitions factories and long-range weapons to back nearly 2000 jobs under Strategic D… · Original ↗
  • commitment Ministerial statement Labour · 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of Scotland’s Defence Growt…

    £250m for five Defence Growth Deals and £182m Defence Industry Skills Package

    The Defence Industrial Strategy committed £250 million to fund all five Defence Growth Deals across the UK, and announced an £182 million Defence Industry Skills Package.

    Why linked: Defines the regional industrial spread of the DIS — Scotland, South Yorkshire, Plymouth/South West, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    Source: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of Scotland’s Defence Growth Deal fun… · Original ↗
  • commitment Ministerial statement Labour · 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Defence Investment Plan …

    10-year zero-based Defence Investment Plan replacing the Equipment Plan

    The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) is the next step in turning the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) into action. It is a 10-year plan, and the first zero-based review of Defence's budgets in eighteen years

    Why linked: Architectural commitment to a single integrated 10-year capital sequencing plan — its non-publication is now the central scrutiny issue.

    Source: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Defence Investment Plan will be a … · Original ↗

Open questions & gaps

Known gaps in the evidence base and what's still pending.

Pending in the lifecycle

  • Defence Investment Plan publication date — multiple Commons and Lords PQs unanswered before April 2026 prorogation; no published timetable
  • Construction start dates for the six munitions factories — feasibility studies due August 2026, investment Q3 2026
  • Allocation of the £182m Defence Industry Skills Package by region beyond the announced split
  • Whether the DIP will contain costings for all current and future defence programmes — MOD has not confirmed scope coverage
  • Cost envelope of accepting all 62 SDR recommendations — deflected to forthcoming DIP

Beyond the corpus

  • MISSING Published Defence Investment Plan and accompanying NAO affordability report — SDR 2025 committed to DIP as implementation vehicle; nearly a year on it remains unpublished and the NAO study is still 'Work in Progress'
  • MISSING Annual SME Action Plan and direct SME spending target — MOD has confirmed it will publish an annual SME Action Plan but has not committed to a date relative to the DIP
  • MISSING Overarching Infrastructure Recapitalisation Plan (SDR Recommendation 59) — MOD confirmed in March 2026 it had not yet been submitted to ministers
  • MISSING Defence Finance and Economic Strategy paper flagged in the DIS — PQ 123409 (8 April 2026) asks specifically about publishing progress on this DIS commitment

Confidence gaps

  • Live currency of ministerial roles — Dan Jarvis WMS attribution carries 'current status unknown' flag and other ministerial roles may shift before/after prorogation
  • Whether the National Security and Defence Investment Account (named in thread scope from the 2021 Integrated Review) survives intact in the new SDR/DIP architecture — corpus does not directly resolve this
  • How the Procurement Act 2023 and DSPCR 2011 will interact under the National Armaments Director Group's redesigned commercial authorities