Chancellor Rachel Reeves met EU finance ministers to call for deeper cooperation on defence financing ‘in a changed world.'
Reeves held discussions at the informal ECOFIN meeting following an invitation from the Polish Presidency and called on the UK and EU to work closely together on defence financing to provide greater economic and national security.
Further cooperation between the UK and EU will help ensure that the UK Government’s commitment to the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, as well as the additional £2.2 billion of defence funding for next year, delivers the technological edge the military needs, the UK Government said.
This £2.2 billion will be invested in advanced technologies so that Britain’s armed forces have the tools they need for modern warfare. This includes guaranteeing the investment to fit Royal Navy ships with Directed Energy Weapons by 2027. These weapons can hit a £1 coin from 1 km away and take down drones at a distance of 5 km.
Last month, the UK Government also announced that £1 in every £10 of the Ministry of Defence’s equipment procurement would be spent on novel technologies, such as drones and AI, to spur on growth and opportunity for British companies. This increased defence spending could be worth an extra £11 billion to the British economy.
