Royal Navy, Army and RAF investment plan to be revealed showing how reforms will be set "line by line" - when

Lord Vernon Coaker told The House of Lords today that details will be released in the autumn to showcase how the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) will be implemented. The government accepted 62 recommendations in the document released earlier this month - detailing billions of pounds of investment.

Baroness Goldie, Conservative, said the SDR was an “admirable blueprint” for what the country’s defence capability could look like, but criticised the lack of details on how it will be set in stone. She added: “We do know the review was predicated upon a defence budget of three per cent of GDP. So may I ask the minister when is that 3% happening, and is that sufficient to implement the recommendations fully?”

Lord Coaker said the upcoming plan will set out “line by line” how the SDR recommendations will be met in full. The Labour peer said aid the Prime Minister’s commitment to fund comprehensive military plans to safeguard the UK in the face of threats by Russia and China was “absolute”.

The SDR outlined spending for new nuclear attack submarines, warship upgrades, drones and other infrastructure projects. A commitment to spend just over 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence from April 2027 was made, alongside an “ambition” to raise this to three per cent in the next parliament - a time period which could stretch to 2034.

Pressure is mounting on the government, with Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte is pushing members of the alliance to reach five per cent of GDP. No deadline for this target has been set.

Former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West of Spithead said: “Does the Treasury now understand that all this military equipment requires a drum beat of orders. So for example, if you want 30 frigates and have a 30-year life, one frigate has to roll off the production line every single year, year after year after year.

“The same goes for all other types of equipment. And historically, we’ve ordered little batches. Then there’s been a gap. SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) lose trade, they can’t do anything. And then we order another little batch. The Treasury have got to understand the need for this drum beat. Have we managed to get that message through?”

Lord Coaker responded: “I think the Treasury do understand the need for that drum beat. He is absolutely right that you can’t turn defence industry production on and off like a tap, and that we have to maintain the capability of being able to produce the ships or whatever military equipment it is that we need.

“But it’s also to maintain the skilled labour and not allow those skills to be lost, which is particularly important. So I think the Treasury does understand both the need for more money – which has been injected – and the need to ensure that we get that steady drum beat.”