UK Sets 2030 Target for Defense Spending to Reach 3% of GDP

Britain has set 2030 as its target for defense spending to reach 3% of gross domestic product, as Chancellor John Healey outlined new defense and Ukraine commitments in Wednesday's budget.

The government also reaffirmed its commitment to spend 3.5% of GDP on defense by 2035. The targets do not mean those spending levels have already been reached. Healey said the detailed path to meeting them will be set out at next year's spending review.

The budget provides more than £10 billion in additional economic and military support for Ukraine through measures including loans and export guarantees. That package includes £500 million in urgent military support for the winter.

Up to £5 billion in investment and lending is to be deployed over the next four years through the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank for defense, dual-use technology and other national-security sectors. A separate joint 10-year, £2.5 billion program with Rolls-Royce will support next-generation gas-turbine technology for civil and defense aerospace.

Parliament's Defence Committee welcomed the funding of the Defence Investment Plan but criticized the delay in explaining how the larger spending targets will be met. The next spending review will determine how the government's commitments translate into a funded long-term plan.