Chemring sounds alarm over UK defence spending

A leading British defence company has sounded the alarm over Labour’s failure to outline how it plans to boost spending on the armed forces.

As frustration mounts among senior military leaders and industry chiefs, Chemring bosses said delays to the defence investment plan were hitting business.

The blueprint – which is set to outline how and where the defence budget will be spent – was due to be published last year but has been repeatedly delayed amid warnings of a £28billion black hole.

In an update ahead of its annual general meeting with shareholders in London, Chemring said: ‘There continues to be disruption in the UK market due to the delayed publication of the UK’s defence investment plan.’ BAE Systems boss Charles Woodburn earlier this week urged ministers to publish the plan to bring ‘clarity’ to what the Ministry of Defence required.

Firing blanks: Chemring bosses said delays to the defence investment plan were hitting business

And military and spy chiefs this week warned Britain faces a ‘1936 moment’ as they demanded Keir Starmer commit to doubling defence spending.

‘Facing a 1936 moment’: PM Keir Starmer

Former ministers, security advisers and retired top brass wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to increase military investment to 5 per cent of GDP.

They said Britain is unprepared for conflict with Russia and must urgently re-equip its hollowed-out armed forces.

‘You must recognise that we are facing our 1936 moment: global conflict is highly likely if we don’t invest in deterrence now,’ said the letter from signatories including former defence secretary Ben Wallace and former head of the Army Lord Dannatt. ‘Britain lacks the mass, readiness and resilience needed to produce a credible deterrent in an era of intensifying threats.’

Starmer has set a target of raising defence spending from the current level of 2.4pc of gross domestic product to 2.5 per cent by April 2027 and 3 per cent after the next election. 

Under pressure from Donald Trump, Nato leaders last year agreed to ramp up defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035. 

Ministers are at loggerheads over the plans with the Treasury resisting calls to outline how Britain will hit its targets in the Spring Statement on March 3. Michael Ord, chief executive of Chemring, said the company was ‘well positioned to benefit from rising defence spending across Nato and allied nations’.

But it is understood Chemring’s Roke business, which designed the tennis ball tracking Hawk-Eye system used at Wimbledon, is being held back by delays to the publication of the defence investment plan.