UK plans $248 Billion Defense Procurement Spend Till 2024

According to the UK third annual report to the defense equipment plan for 2014-2024 published on Wednesday, the UK’s ministry of defense plans to spend $104.9 billion on procurement of new equipment and an additional $24.3 billion and $97.6 billion on support arrangements new and existing equipment.

The total defense equipment budget planned for the decade is $248 billion as per the report. The spending includes $60 billion for nuclear submarines, $23.4 billion on land equipment and $16.9 billion on helicopters.

The spending has been divided into several sectors.

Ships

The UK plans to spend around £18.2bn on surface ships over the next ten years.

The spending covers expenditure on the design, build and maintenance of surface ships together with the supply and maintenance of the equipments onboard that include the completion of the two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, the design and development of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship, which will replace the Type 23 Frigate, Four new Tide Class Tankers, to provide modern ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary from 2016. The contract for all four vessels was placed in 2012 and the first will enter service from 2016 and three new Offshore Patrol Vessels, for which a firm price contract has been awarded to BAE Systems. The first ship is planned to enter service in 2017.

Submarines

The UK plans to spend around $60 billion on Submarines over the next decade.

The spending covers support to In-Service Submarines, including the provision of engineering and design authority support to the UK Submarine flotilla to ensure that they remain safe, available and capable, the delivery of 7 Astute Class Submarines, the initial support and training, as well as the delivery of the Astute Capability Sustainment Program, the Successor submarine design and build activities at Barrow; the common missile compartment arrangements with the US; the command and control and naval base infrastructure upgrades required, the support, procurement and design of naval nuclear propulsion systems, the Trident missile system with the US; the UK/French collaborative Teutates project, and the provision of other services and activities across the Strategic Weapons System.

Land Equipment

The UK plans to spend around $23.4 billion on Land Equipment over the next decade.

The spending includes the Warrior Capability Sustainment Program, delivering capability enhancements and an extended service life, the Challenger 2 Life Extension Program, the Scout Specialist Vehicle and Utility Vehicle programs which will replace a range of tracked armored vehicles reaching the end of their viable lifespan and modifications to equipment purchased as Urgent Operational Requirements for Afghanistan in order to optimize their continued utility.

Weapons

The report says that UK plans to spend $19.1 billion on the weapons program that includes Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM), which evolved from the Advance Short Range Air-to-Air Missile and has been developed for the Future Local Area Air Defence (FLAADS) System for the Maritime and Land environments. Manufacture of the Maritime variant of CAMM, known as Sea Ceptor, which will enter service on Type 23 Frigates in 2016. New Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (FASGW) which will equip the Royal Navy’s new Wildcat Helicopters is to be delivered.

Combat Air

The UK plans to spend around $27.2 billion in the Combat Air sector over the next ten years.

The spending majorly includes, Typhoon capability, including the integration of a suite of weapons capabilities that will enhance its utility in the ground attack role. Other spending includes the Joint Strike Fighter program and Unmanned Air Systems.

Air Support
The UK plans to spend around $21 billion in the Air Support sector over the next ten years.

This sector covers all large aircraft, including transport, air-to-air refuelling and large ISTAR platforms and includes A400M future generation of strategic/tactical air transport aircraft, the continuation of the Voyager transport and air-to-air refuelling aircraft program, which replaced the VC10 and TriStar fleets from April 2014 and New Airseeker, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Rivet Joint aircraft to replace the Nimrod R1 and provide us with a state-of-the-art airborne signals intelligence collection capability.

Helicopters

The UK plans to spend around $16.8 billion on helicopter capabilities over the next ten years and covers spending on upgrades to our existing airframes and investment in new ones. Longer term rationalization to four core helicopter fleets - Chinook, Merlin, Apache and Wildcat - which we plan to sustain until at least 2040.

ISTAR

The UK plans to spend $7.45 billion on ISTAR over the next decade.

This investment includes spend on intelligence networks and applications; CBRN detection and countermeasures; operational surveillance systems and electronic countermeasures; a range of Special Forces equipment; air defence; air traffic management and tactical data links. It excludes expenditure on Air ISTAR platforms in the Air Support Operating Centre, including Airseeker and the Reaper Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

ISTAR’s future profile is dominated by Project MARSHALL which is planned to amount to around $23 billion over 22 years. MARSHALL will deliver air traffic management services for government aerodromes in the UK, permanent airbases abroad and deployed forces worldwide.

Information Systems and Services (ISS)

The UK plans to spend around $25.7 billion on Information Systems and Services over the next decade.

The budget covers all of the expenditure on procurement of data and voice communications and the development and upkeep of our entire supporting network infrastructure.