Rishi Sunak – 2024 Defence Speech Made in Warsaw

The speech made by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, in Warsaw on 23 April 2024.

My first duty as Prime Minister is the security of the British people.

And fulfilling that profound responsibility is only possible because of you.

Just ten days ago, I gave the order for the RAF to join an international effort…

…intercepting a barrage of Iranian missiles headed towards Israel.

Those pilots, like you, and like every generation of British service men and women before you…

…were willing to put their own safety over the line…

…for the security of others and the defence of our liberties and our values.

From your Regiment’s service in Iraq and Afghanistan…

…to your current role here in Poland, protecting NATO’s eastern flank…

…you have made those sacrifices in the service of our country.

I am truly humbled by your courage and professionalism.

And on behalf of a proud and grateful nation, let me simply say: thank you.

But I haven’t just brought you together today to express my gratitude.

I want to talk to you about how we equip you to do your duty…

…in an increasingly dangerous world.

We have entered a period of history in which competition between countries has sharpened profoundly.

An axis of authoritarian states with different values to ours…

…like Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China…

…are increasingly assertive.

The danger they pose is not new.

But what is new is that these countries – or their proxies…

…are causing more instability, more quickly, in more places at once.

And they’re increasingly acting together…

…making common cause in an attempt to reshape the world order.

Now I know there are some people who will think these are faraway problems.

But they are not.

They pose real risks to the United Kingdom’s security and prosperity.

Russia has already poisoned people on British soil with chemical weapons.

Caused energy bills to soar.

Weaponised migration.

And sent technology to Iran in exchange for weapons, like the Shaheed drones…

…that I saw myself are wreaking such devastation on Ukraine.

Iran themselves have threatened to kill and kidnap people within our borders for exercising their right to free speech.

And used proxies like the Houthis, to attack British ships in the Red Sea…

…disrupting supplies of crucial goods to our high streets.

North Korea, too, is supplying munitions and artillery to Russia…

…and their hackers have targeted British businesses and the NHS.

And Chinese state-affiliated actors have conducted malicious cyber campaigns…

…against British MPs.

China itself is engaged in a huge military modernisation programme.

Potential flashpoints in the Indo-Pacific…

…could have an impact on the global economy far larger even than Covid.

And China is increasingly working with others to try and reshape the world…

…including their so-called ‘unlimited partnership’ with Russia.

So the new assertiveness of these authoritarian states far from our shores must concern us.

Because they are increasingly acting together…

…against the fundamental values that we all hold dear…

…of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.

Now, we must not overstate the danger.

We’re not on the brink of war.

And nor do we seek it.

And people should feel reassured…

…that the UK’s armed forces are some of the most professional…

…well-trained, well-equipped, and battle-ready in the world.

And I’m incredibly proud of all they’ve achieved.

From patrolling the Arctic Circle as part of the Joint Expeditionary Force…

…to the campaign against Daesh in the deserts of Iraq and Syria.

From protecting the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea…

…to policing the skies above Eastern Europe.

And just look at the investments we’ve made in the last decade.

£40 billion in the British Army…

…who proudly provide one of NATO’s strategic reserves…

…with 16,000 troops deployed to Europe this year.

The Royal Air Force, equipped with new Typhoons, Chinooks, F35s…

…with the GCAP programme delivering new fighter jets with Japan and Italy.

The Royal Navy is a carrier navy once again…

…with 22 new ships and submarines on the way…

…and the historic AUKUS partnership building the most advanced nuclear-powered subs the world has ever known.

And we’ve launched a new national endeavour to invigorate and invest more in our nuclear deterrent.

And all of this is combined with our outstanding diplomatic network…

…development expertise, law enforcement and intelligence agencies…

…and our support for allies – above all the £12bn we’ve provided to Ukraine.

So I’m proud of our record on defence.

And confident in our ability to deter our adversaries.

…and ensure the security of the United Kingdom.

But in a world that’s the most dangerous…

…it’s been since the end of the Cold War…

…we cannot – and must not – be complacent.

As Churchill said, in 1934:

“To urge the preparation of defence is not to assert the imminence of war.

On the contrary, if war were imminent…

…preparations for defence would be too late.”

I believe we must do more…

…to defend our country, our interests, and our values.

So today, I’m announcing…

…the biggest strengthening of our national defence for a generation.

We will increase defence spending to a new baseline of 2.5% of GDP, by 2030.

That starts today.

And rises steadily in each and every year.

Over the next six years, we’ll invest an additional £75bn in our defence.

And it will be fully funded with no increase in borrowing or debt.

So this is not some vague aspiration for the future.

We have a clear plan for what we’ll spend, when we’ll spend it, and how we pay for it.

A plan that makes the United Kingdom by far the largest defence power in Europe – and second largest in NATO.

Today is a landmark moment in the defence of the United Kingdom.

This is a generational investment in British security and British prosperity.

It makes us safer at home and stronger abroad.

Now we have three immediate priorities for this new investment.

First, we will put the UK’s own defence industry on a war footing.

One of the central lessons of the war in Ukraine…

…is that we need deeper stockpiles of munitions…

…and for industry to be able to replenish them more quickly.

So today, we’re giving £10bn in munitions to give industry long-term funding certainty…

…backed by long-term contracts…

…so they can produce more, be readier to surge capacity…

…and move to ‘always on’ production, when required.

From surface-to-air-missiles made in Bolton…

…to anti-tank weapons in Belfast…

…we will replenish our stockpiles…

…all while supporting British jobs right across the Union.

But it’s not just about investing more – we must invest better.

For too long, too much of our defence procurement…

…has been over-complex, over-budget, and over-time.

So we are making radical reforms to our procurement model…

…to make sure this new investment delivers value for money.

And to encourage private sector investment into defence production…

…I can also announce today that we’re going to put beyond doubt that defence investment…

…does count towards environmental, social and governance assessments.

There is nothing more ethical than defending our way of life from those who threaten it.

Now all of this will put us at the forefront of the global defence industry…

…allow us to hugely ramp up defence production…

…and give our armed forces the capability they need to keep us safe.

But as in so many areas of our lives, technology is changing the face of war.

So our second immediate priority is innovation and new technology.

We need to innovate and adapt faster than our adversaries…

…in space and cyberspace just as much as land, sea, and air.

Look at Ukraine.

Many aspects of the war would be familiar to a soldier from WWI or II

Yet others would be unimaginably different.

Like the fact that cheap, high-tech, autonomous drones could disable large parts of Russia’s Black Sea fleet.

The good news is that innovation is already one of our greatest strengths.

The UK’s own Dragonfire laser directed energy weapon…

…costs only £10 a shot…

…yet is accurate enough to hit a £1 coin from a kilometre away.

And today we’re going further.

We will increase defence R&D to at minimum to 5% of the defence budget.

Invest far more in autonomous drones.

And we will set up a new Defence Innovation Agency.

So that for the first time, decisions about defence innovation…

…will be brought together in a single, strategic agency…

…that will be freed from red tape …

…and work with the private sector on emerging new technologies.

Now third, we must support Ukraine for the long term.

Since the Cold War ended, the freedom of our continent has been based on a simple idea:

That it is for people to decide the fate of their countries, not foreign armies.

But allow Putin to win in Ukraine…

…and that principle of sovereignty would be undermined.

We would be dragged back to a world…

…where brute force, rather than the democratic will of free peoples…

…would shape borders and decide futures.

And Putin will not stop in Ukraine.

Win there, and he – and indeed others – will be emboldened.

He has the desire, if not yet the capacity, to attack other countries in Europe…

…potentially including NATO allies, who we would be bound to defend…

…just as they are bound to defend us.

The costs of failing to support Ukraine now will be far greater than the costs of repelling Putin.

Because only if he fails will he and other adversaries be deterred.

That is why the United Kingdom…

…whose history of standing up to dictators is so much part of our national consciousness…

…has come together with our allies to stand with Ukraine from the very start.

Today we will go further.

We will send Ukraine an additional half a billion pounds , hitting £3 billion of support this year.

And we’ll provide them with largest-ever package of UK military equipment.

This will include more than 400 vehicles…

…4 million rounds of ammunition…

…60 boats and offshore raiding craft…

…vital air defences…

…and long-range precision-guided Storm Shadow missiles.

And as we make our historic commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP…

…we’ll move past this stop-start, piecemeal way of backing Ukraine…

…so that alongside our long-term security guarantee…

…we are today providing a long-term funding guarantee…

…of at least the current level of military support to Ukraine, for every year it is needed.

That is the longest commitment any nation has provided.

And it shows that Ukraine is not alone, and Ukraine will never be alone.

A decade ago, as Russian tanks rolled into Crimea…

…and the fight against ISIL raged across the Middle East…

…NATO allies came together in Wales, and reached an historic agreement…

…to increase their defence budgets to 2% of GDP.

Back then, the UK was one of only 4 countries who did so.

Today, there are 11.

And I believe we will look back on this moment…

…as a similar turning point in European security.

Because for all that we welcome the news over the weekend…

…that the US Congress agreed a new package of aid for Ukraine…

…support that will be indispensable on the frontline…

…this is not the moment for complacency.

We cannot keep expecting America to pay any price or bear any burden…

…if we ourselves are unwilling to make greater sacrifices for our own security.

So I’m proud that the United Kingdom is increasing our defence spending to £87bn a year…

…the biggest strengthening of our national defence in a generation…

…guaranteeing our position as the second largest defence power in NATO, after the US.

All across Europe…

…countries like Poland, Germany, Norway and the Baltic nations…

…are stepping up to take greater responsibility for our own security.

And I’m confident that whether in months or years…

…others will follow, too.

And at this turning point in European security, if 2.5% becomes a new benchmark for all NATO partners to reach…

…allied defence spending would increase by over £140 billion.

That would provide a level of safety and security for the British people…

…and the peoples of all allied nations…

…that far outstrips anything we could achieve alone.

To conclude, we did not choose this moment. But it falls to us to meet it.

In a world of increasing threats, we must show our enemies that we are resolute and determined.

That their attempts to destabilise our world or redraw its borders by force will fail.

That with our friends and allies, we will be at the forefront of the defence of the free, democratic world.

And under my leadership, the United Kingdom will always stand up for our interests…

…deter our enemies, and defend our values.