UK to improve defence capabilities ‘across the board'

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to boost defence spending by GBP16.5 billion (USD21.8 billion) over the next four years and create new entities for artificial intelligence, cyber, and space to prepare the military to counter increasingly sophisticated threats, according to the British government.

“The international situation is more perilous and more intensely competitive than at any time since the Cold War, and Britain must be true to our history and stand alongside our allies,” Johnson said in a press release. “To achieve this, we need to upgrade our capabilities across the board.”

Johnson intends to outline his new defence agenda in a speech to the House of Commons on 19 November. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace pledged to release more details “over the next few months”.

The budget boost, when combined with a previously planned increase, will lift defence spending by a total of GBP24.1 billion over four years compared to last year’s budget. It will be the United Kingdom’s largest military investment in 30 years and will “cement the UK’s position as the largest defence spender in Europe and the second largest in NATO” after the United States, according to the press release.

The extra money “will allow the government to invest in cutting-edge technology,” the release says.