Keir Starmer commits UK military to war-fighting readiness amid Russian threats

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday that he is moving the United Kingdom’s military into “war-fighting readiness” to address growing threats from Russia. 

During a visit to BAE Systems’Govan facility, a navy ship-building yard in Glasgow, Scotland, the prime minister laid out “three fundamental changes” to be made in response to the country’s strategic defense review. 

“First, we are moving to war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our armed forces,” Starmer said. “When we are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, the most effective way to deter them is to be ready. And frankly, to show them that we’re ready, to deliver peace through strength.” 

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Starmer continued, “Now Britain has the finest service men and women in the world. We’re showing them the respect that they deserve by delivering the biggest armed forces pay rise in 20 years and by pledging today that we will end the hollowing out of our armed forces. “We’ll build a fighting force that is more integrated, more ready, more lethal than ever, backed by a stronger strategic reserve, fully trained and ready to mobilize at any time.”

The new approach comes as President Donald Trump has warned European nations to take more responsibility for their own security. Starmer’s announcement focused on a “new era” of threats, citing the war in Ukraine, new nuclear risks and “daily cyberattacks,” as well as reversing the post-Cold War defense decline. He called out “growing Russian aggression” in U.K. waters and skies, blaming “their reckless actions” for the increased cost of living “hitting working people the hardest.” 

“The threat we now face is more serious, more immediate and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War,” Starmer said. 

The U.K. government announced military plans in response to a strategic defense review commissioned by Starmer and led by George Robertson, a former U.K. defense secretary and NATO secretary general. 

It’s the first such review since 2021. Months after Britain’s last major defense review was published in 2021, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson said with confidence that the era of “fighting big tank battles on European landmass” are over. Three months later, Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine. Starmer’s center-left Labour Party government says it will accept all 62 recommendations made in the review, aiming to help the U.K. confront growing threats on land, air, sea and in cyberspace.

The second change, Starmer explained from Scotland, is ensuring “everything we do will add to the strength of NATO.”

“As we step up to take greater responsibility for our collective defense, the NATO alliance means something profound, that we will never fight alone,” Starmer said. “It is a fundamental source of our strategic strength. That’s why our defense policy will always be NATO first, something that’s written through this review. The transformation we are driving in our defense must add up to Britain’s biggest contribution to NATO since its creation. So that when we’re building new capabilities at home, we are making our allies safer too, strengthening Europe, and strengthening our bridge to the US as Britain’s first partner in defense.” 

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The third change laid out by Starmer is for the U.K. to “innovate and accelerate at a wartime pace so we can meet the threats of today and of tomorrow as the fastest innovator in NATO.” He said such advancements would not mean “replacing people” or hardware, but would rather mean “learning the lessons of Ukraine” and ensuring “every capability we have works seamlessly together.”

“Drones, destroyers, AI, aircraft, each different branch of our armed services, fully integrated to create an army which is 10 times more lethal by 2035,” Starmer said. 

The U.K. government said it’s expanding the country’s armed, nuclear-powered submarine fleet with up to 12 new SSN-AUKUS boats through a partnership with Australia and the United States. The government also says it will invest 15 billion pounds in Britain’s nuclear arsenal, which consists of missiles carried on a handful of submarines. Details of those plans are likely to be kept secret.

Starmer has already pledged to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, a boost from the current 2.3%, and to eventually get that up to 3%.

GB News noted at the press conference Monday that Starmer hasn’t committed to having 3% of the GDP go to defense spending within the next nine years, even as Germany’s defense chief warned Russia could invade a NATO ally within the next four years. In his response, Starmer reiterated the U.K. as a “steadfast ally” to Ukraine and said the changes coming as a result of the review would be the best way to deter further conflict. 

The U.K. government will also increase Britain’s conventional weapons stockpiles with up to 7,000 U.K.-built long-range weapons.

Starmer said rearming would create a “defense dividend” of thousands of well-paid manufacturing jobs – a contrast to the post-Cold War “peace dividend” that saw Western nations channel money away from defense into other areas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.