The caretaker Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, announced the UK's Defence Investment Plan (DIP) on 30 June 2026. The plan has featured parts on the UK's commitment to AUKUS and the UK-Australia defence partnership.
Almost GBP £300 billion (approx. A $577 billion) over the next four years will be spent on defence in the UK, with approximately GBP £80 billion (approx. A $154 billion) spent per a year.
In 2024, the UK spent 2.3 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product on defence as opposed to now, which is 2.7 per cent with a trajectory of three per cent by next Parliament.
“That’s why we have reversed, at last the corrosive hollowing out of our armed forces,” Prime Minister Starmer stated in his speech.
“And it’s why we’re transforming a defence programme that frankly for too long has been underfunded and unsuited to the threats that we face.
“I’ve also been clear since day one that we do this, not because we want war - but because we want to avoid war.”
Under the AUKUS agreement, as shown in the DIP, the UK will build up to 12 next-generation SSN-AUKUS (SSN-A) nuclear-powered submarines. Steel is to be cut on the first submarine next year, according to the DIP.
Through AUKUS Pillar 2, the UK will also invest in weapon systems and sensors for underwater drones as its signature project.
In support of the AUKUS partnership, the UK will also aim to modernise its submarine building ability with a transformation of its submarine manufacturing capacity through new capabilities, technology and industrial investment.
The country will also expand its nuclear reactor core manufacturing capabilities at Raynesway in Derby in line with AUKUS, for the UK and Australian navies’ submarines.
Notably, progress has been made towards the submarine industrial base, including GBP £6 billion (approx. A $11.53 billion) that the UK committed in 2025 to uplift submarine building infrastructure at Rolls-Royce Submarines in Derby, and BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness.
“The UK’s Defence Investment Plan reinforces our enduring commitment to AUKUS and confirms we’re ‘all-in’ on our Australia defence partnership. It sets out how we will deliver the capabilities we have jointly committed to – from nuclear-powered submarines and the industrial base that supports them, through to advanced defence technologies like AI, autonomy and undersea systems," Acting British High Commissioner to Australia, Brian Jones, said.
"AUKUS is central to UK defence planning and investment. Our progress together already delivers on that long-term commitment – from submarine design and infrastructure, through to defence sector growth. Australians can be confident that we’re good for it: that our investment, our industrial contribution, and our support for a free and open Indo-Pacific are resolute."
Earlier this year, at the AUKUS Defence Ministerial in Singapore, AUKUS partners confirmed that progress remained on track to support Australia’s acquisition of a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability.
The UK reaffirmed its commitment to have a rotational presence as part of Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-West) and noted the successful Submarine Maintenance Period (SMP) conducted earlier this year by HMS Anson at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia.
This SMP reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to SRF-West and demonstrated Australia’s readiness to own, operate, maintain, and regulate a sovereign conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability.
17 Australian businesses supported the maintenance activity, and 34 locally manufactured components were produced to support maintenance activity.
At the Australia–UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) in London on 10 June, ministers from both countries reaffirmed their shared commitment to the UK-Australia relationship.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to delivering the AUKUS partnership, enhancing security and stability in the Indo-Pacific and Euro Atlantic, and strengthening collective deterrence.
UK Defence Secretary’s Dan Jarvis spoke to the DIP in his speech at the RUSI Land Warfare Conference in London on 23 June.
"There will be a change of Prime Minister. There will be no change in the urgent need to produce the Defence Investment Plan. The DIP is a significant and vast piece of work," Jarvis highlighted.
He also spoke to advanced technologies and the transformational technology captured under Pillar 2 of the AUKUS partnership.
"Artificial Intelligence, autonomy and uncrewed systems are no longer capabilities of the future. They will receive investment that reflects their strategic importance,” Jarvis affirmed.
AI will take centre stage for the UK’s international collaboration in regard to Defence. This will be continued to be seen through the AUKUS program and the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).
Payloads developed through AUKUS will also be used in the UK’s Hybrid Navy fleet, which will consist of uncrewed missile platforms, uncrewed underwater sense platforms, extra-large uncrewed underwater vessels (XLUUV), uncrewed radar platforms and a future class of Common Combat Vessels (CCV).
The UK will also be joining the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) program alongside Australia and the United States of America.