MPs warn UK has no plan to defend against military attacks
The report highlighted that the UK is falling short of Nato obligations and its claimed leadership role, relying heavily on the US for intelligence, satellite support, troop transport, and air-to-air refueling. It also noted the country has "next to nothing" in integrated air and missile defenses and criticized the slow progress in civil defence and resilience.
Committee chair Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi said, "Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine, unrelenting disinformation campaigns, and repeated incursions into European airspace mean that we cannot afford to bury our heads in the sand," stressing the need for readiness and public awareness.
The report called on the government to accelerate industrial change, improve communication with the public, and make "readiness" a key objective.
In response, Defence Secretary John Healey is set to announce plans to restart domestic production of energetics—explosives, pyrotechnics, and propellants—after two decades of importing them. The Ministry of Defence is considering 13 potential factory sites across the UK, including locations in Scotland, England, and Wales, aiming for six new factories to be operational by 2029.
Healey will also announce two new drone factories in Plymouth and Swindon. He emphasized that these initiatives will strengthen national security and create British jobs, saying: "We are making defence an engine for growth, unambiguously backing British jobs and British skills as we make the UK better ready to fight and better able to deter future conflicts."
The government previously pledged to raise UK defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2034.
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