UK Cuts Road Building Budget to Boost Military Spending

London (ANTARA) - The United Kingdom will reduce spending on road construction and several other public projects to increase the military budget, Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated on Tuesday.

“A number of capital projects, for example in the road and energy sectors—which are important but not urgent—will no longer proceed as planned,” Starmer said during a press conference regarding the launch of the long-term defence budget plan.

He emphasised that such “difficult decisions” and austerity measures are necessary to ensure national defence without resorting to further borrowing.

“The issuance of defence bonds is essentially just another form of borrowing… However, the fact is, doing this through loans would drive up interest rates,” he added.

Starmer stated that the UK will increase its military budget by 2nd7 per cent to £80 billion (approximately Rp1.89 quadrillion) per year by 2029.

The kingdom will invest more than £5 billion (approximately Rp119.1 trillion) in drone technology and autonomous weapons; the Prime Minister described it as the nation’s largest investment in this technology.

The funds will also be allocated to creating a “hybrid Royal Navy” that utilises maritime and underwater drones as well as artificial intelligence.

Starmer also announced the use of the latest generation of Typhoon fighter jets flying alongside drones to avoid enemy detection, combat drones operating with Apache helicopters, a new fleet of reconnaissance drones, and an increased number of loitering munitions.

Additionally, the UK will invest in long-range missiles, armoured vehicles, and anti-drone systems.