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Defence Military handed £2.2bn to help buy laser weapons and drones
The Guardian
|March 27, 2025
Extra money for drones and laser weapons to "revolutionise" the armed forces has been announced by Rachel Reeves as part of a £2.2bn boost to defence spending.
Vowing to turn Britain into "a defence industrial superpower", the chancellor used her spring statement to unveil plans aimed at increasing arms exports and meeting the goal of spending 2.7% of national income on the military by 2027.
Four Royal Navy warships are to get DragonFire laser weaponry that uses intense light beams to cut through targets. A minimum of 10% of the Ministry of Defence's equipment budget will go on novel technologies including drones and AI-enabled equipment.
The boost comes on top of £6.4bn that Keir Starmer, the prime minister, had pledged in February would go to the defence budget by 2027.
This story is from the March 27, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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