The UK is buying a fleet of nuke-laden jets, building new attack submarines, establishing a network of bio labs, and reviving the ‘Blitz spirit’ amid growing threats.
As Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer attends a NATO summit in The Hague, it was confirmed Britain is set to buy 12 F35-A fighter jets.
The £80million jets, a variant of the F35-Bs the UK already uses, can carry conventional weapons but can also be equipped with nuclear bombs.
They are expected to carry American B-61 nuclear gravity bombs, capable of killing thousands.
It follows the recent announcement that the UK will build up to 12 new attack submarines.
The new conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines will replace the seven-strong Astute class from the late 2030s onwards.
The bolstering of Britain’s military kit comes as a chilling new report outlined the growing threats faced by the UK.
The national security strategy, published yesterday, warned of a direct attack on British soil.
‘For the first time in many years, we have to actively prepare for the possibility of the UK homeland coming under direct threat, potentially in a wartime scenario,’ it said.
In his foreword to the report, Sir Keir set out an ‘historic commitment’ to spending 5 per cent of Britain’s GDP on national security by 2035.
This is as has been agreed by NATO leaders at this week’s summit.
The national security strategy also set out how £1billion is being invested in a new network of ‘national biosecurity centres’.
These willl bolster the UK’s defences against biological incidents, accidents and attacks.
The report included a call for Brits to revive the ‘Blitz spirit’ as it warned ‘the years ahead will test the UK’ in the face of ‘radical uncertainty’ across the world.
‘We do not need to look too far into our history for an example of a whole-of-society effort, motivated by a collective will to keep each other safe,’ it added.
‘We can mobilise that spirit again and use it both for our national security and the rebuilding of our country.’
Asked about the warnings that Britain needs to be prepared for the risk of war on home soil, Defence Secretary John Healey told LBC this morning: ‘Nobody expects an invasion of Britain today or tomorrow.
‘But this is part of the warnings that we saw in the strategic defence review, a recognition that we need to take the resilience of our homeland, the defence of our homeland, more seriously.’
In the national security strategy, the UK was said to now find itself in ‘an era in which we face confrontation with those who are threatening our security’.
The report highlighted Russian cyber attacks and sabotage against the UK, Iranian hostile activity on British soil, and other adversaries ‘laying the foundations for future conflict’.
This includes them ‘positioning themselves to move quickly to cause major disruption to our energy and or supply chains,’ the strategy said.
The strategy aims to protect the UK at home and abroad, and also invest more in artificial intelligence (AI) and defence.
Sir Keir said the UK is ‘facing daily challenges on the home front’ with Britain targeted by ‘very, very frequent and very, very serious’ cyberattacks.
The PM, speaking to Sky News at a NATO summit in The Hague on Tuesday, added: ‘We have to guard properly against those threats, and we will do so.’
While the national security strategy outlined the threat from Russia, Iran and North Korea, it also highlighted the ‘challenge’ of China as a global actor.
Hellbound and Down 