Royal Navy fleet to grow with warships armed with laser guns after £16.5bn defence boost by Boris Johnson

The prime minister unveiled the four-year financial deal for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), worth a huge £16.5bn, to MPs in the Commons today.

The windfall aims to ‘transform’ the military, developing cutting-edge capabilities in the future battlefield of cyber and space.

It includes the creation of an agency dedicated to artificial intelligence, and a ‘space command’ capable of launching the UK’s first rocket by 2022.

The proposal guaranteed the construction of eight state-of-the-art Type 26 frigates and five general-purpose Type 31 frigates, which combined would replace the current fleet of Type 23 warships.

And in a victory for naval campaigners, the government also announced it will ‘commit to the next generation Type 32’ frigate.

The new warships are expected to operate in a general purpose role, bolstering the navy’s ability to tackle drug smugglers, piracy and terrorism while offering more vessels to react to humanitarian disasters.

It’s understood the vessels could enter service in the late 2020s or early 2030s, joining the two other breeds of frigates and the Type 45 destroyers.

The news was welcomed by military top brass in Whitehall, with a defence source telling The News: ‘This is the first time that we have grown the frigate and destroyer force in my living memory...It’s great news for us.’

Mr Johnson said his defence modernisation package would ‘end the era of retreat’ and ‘upgrade our capabilities across the board’ when it came to the armed forces.

Speaking to MPs today, he said replacing traditional guns with energy weapons would help solve the problem of troops running out of ammo, and that lasers were among ‘technologies that will revolutionise warfare’.

‘Our warships and combat vehicles will carry directed energy weapons, destroying targets with inexhaustible lasers. For them, the phrase “out of ammunition” will become redundant,’ he told MPs.

SEE ALSO: ‘Delusional’ SNP demands major navy warships be based in Scotland

Mr Johnson also confirmed that Portsmouth-based aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth would lead a task force to east Asia in a challenge to China.

Describing it as the most Britain’s ‘most ambitious deployment for two decades, the PM said: ‘We shall deploy more of our naval assets in the world’s most important regions, protecting the shipping lanes that supply our nation.’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the news but said that under the Tory-led government, defence spending had plummeted by £8bn in real terms and that the MoD was still grappling to deal with a £13bn black hole in its equipment budget.

‘The additional funding today is on foundations that have been seriously weakened over the last 10 years,’ he said.

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