Defence Investment Plan: SMI Statement

"This week's resignation of the Rt Hon John Healey, and the appointment of Dan Jarvis MP as Defence Secretary, come at a defining moment for UK defence. We thank John Healey for his dedicated service and commitment to the nation's security. We would also like to welcome new Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis, who knows from experience what our Armed Forces ask of the people who serve in them. It is now our firm hope that this significant understanding and experience of the UK's defence and security industrial base is used to advocate for the support our defence needs.

As it stands, the Defence Investment Plan remains unpublished, with worrying reports suggesting that the settlement under consideration could fall far short of what national security demands. For the United Kingdom, national security begins at sea. We are still an island nation.

The threats we face — to our trade routes, our energy supplies, our undersea cables and our ability to reinforce allies — are maritime threats, and as such they are met by ships, by sailors, and by the industrial base that builds and sustains them. A Defence Investment Plan that underfunds the maritime enterprise is not a savings measure; it is a hole in the nation's defences.

The wider maritime enterprise is also a national economic asset, supporting over a million jobs and £224bn in turnover at last assessment. The UK does not lack analysis. From the Parker Review to the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the direction has been clear for years. What has been missing is political will. Headline defence spending percentages are not enough. The current commitment to 2.5% of GDP can too easily become smoke and mirrors if it includes costs such as the nuclear deterrent, pensions and wider security activity, while conventional capability, readiness, stockpiles, shipbuilding tempo and industrial resilience remain underpowered.

The Government has committed – as part of a NATO agreement – to increasing defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035, and has already set out the path to hit 2.6% by 2027. But a target is not a plan, and there is currently no credible, funded route beyond that — nor any published plan for what the investment must actually deliver. That is what the Defence Investment Plan exists to provide.

The real test though, is not the percentage quoted at the despatch box. The real test is whether the Royal Navy has the ships, submarines, people, weapons, support vessels, repair capacity, technology and supply chain depth it needs. The real test is whether industry has the confidence to invest, train, build and export. The real test is whether SMEs and specialist suppliers can see a demand signal strong enough to justify taking risk.

We should also be honest about where public money goes. Where the UK must buy from overseas, it should do so with clear strategic purpose. But when British taxpayers' money can strengthen UK yards, UK engineering, UK systems companies, UK autonomy, UK propulsion, UK marine science and UK supply chains, that opportunity should not be wasted.

This needs to become a national conversation. We therefore urge the new Defence Secretary to publish a fully funded Defence Investment Plan before next month's NATO Summit — one that delivers real conventional capability and a resilient industrial base, and meets our NATO commitments in substance, not just in headline percentages. The maritime enterprise stands ready to help. But industry cannot plan on warm words. It needs a credible, funded and long-term programme.

If we are serious about defence, we must be serious about maritime."

Tom Chant MBE
Chief Executive Officer, Society of Maritime Industries