U.K.'s defence review has lessons for Canada, says former NATO chief

Murray Brewster · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 02, 2025 2:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Britain intends to grow its submarine fleet and refresh its atomic deterrent capableness arsenic portion of a wide-ranging defence reappraisal that 1 of its authors says Canada should work and instrumentality to heart.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who ordered the review, unveiled the plan, saying it is meant to hole the state to combat a modern warfare and antagonistic the menace from Russia.

"We look warfare successful Europe, caller atomic risks, regular cyberattacks, increasing Russian aggression successful our waters, menacing our skies," Starmer said during a media availability astatine the Govan Shipbuilders Ltd. gait successful Scotland.

He praised Lord George Robertson, the erstwhile caput wide of NATO who led the defence review. Robertson besides spoke past week astatine CANSEC, the Ottawa defence arms exposition.

On Monday, Starmer said Robertson's reappraisal squad delivered "a blueprint to marque Britain safer and stronger: A battle-ready, armour-clad nation, with the strongest alliances and the astir precocious capabilities."

At the centre of the reappraisal is simply a program to regenerate the U.K.'s existing Vanguard-class atomic submarines and to grow the fleet to 12 boats, including some atomic and accepted onslaught variants.

Significantly, the reappraisal pledges to update the U.K.'s atomic weapons deterrent, known arsenic the sovereign warhead programme, a £15-billion ($27.8-billion Cdn) investment. 

There are increasing questions successful Europe astir whether it tin trust connected the atomic umbrella of the United States.

Unlike different atomic subject powers, the U.K.'s deterrent is deployed exclusively connected ballistic rocket submarines, not connected land, nor successful the air. Britain has astatine slightest 1 ballistic rocket vessel astatine oversea astatine each times. 

The defence program besides calls for the operation of six munitions factories successful the U.K. and for person co-operation betwixt authorities and the defence manufacture successful bid to accelerate innovation to a "wartime pace."

In total, the reappraisal makes 62 recommendations, which the U.K. authorities is expected to judge successful full.

Starmer, arsenic portion of his connection Monday, pledged a hefty summation to U.K. defence spending, bringing it to 2.5 per cent of the gross home merchandise by 2027, with "the ambition to deed 3 per cent successful the adjacent Parliament." He added, however, the goals are taxable to economical and fiscal conditions.

Robertson, speaking astatine CANSEC past week, said there's a batch successful the U.K. reappraisal for Canadians to see — a connection helium conveyed privately to Canadian ministers, including Mélanie Joly, the recently appointed industry minister. 

In a aboriginal interrogation with CBC News connected the margins of CANSEC, Robertson said successful bid to conscionable ambitious defence plans, bottlenecks successful procurement are going to person to beryllium removed.

"We are really seeing connected the battlefield successful Ukraine that we tin duplicate that. How tin we velocity up decision-making?" helium said. 

He said determination needs to beryllium "a overmuch person and much intimate narration betwixt the defence manufacture and the politicians successful complaint of defence" truthful that the decision-makers recognize what's needed and what's imaginable from a institution perspective.

Robertson met with respective defence contractors astatine the conference.

"I get from a batch of the companies here, the Canadian companies here, a grade of vexation astir the procurement process," helium said.

"I deliberation [the ministers] are opening to see, that if they are going to walk much wealth connected defence, they tin lone walk it if determination is simply a a much streamlined signifier of procurement."

He said some the U.K. and Canada request to "much much to support themselves, alternatively relying endlessly connected the Americans, for ammunition and for equipment."

Canada updated its ain argumentation successful the outpouring of 2024, nether the authorities of erstwhile premier curate Justin Trudeau. The re-elected Liberal authorities of Prime Minister Mark Carney is promising to summation defence spending, arsenic good arsenic bargain a fleet of caller conventionally powered submarines.

Carney has promised Canada volition scope the NATO benchmark of 2 per cent of GDP defence spending by 2030 — oregon sooner.

Robertson, successful his interrogation with CBC News, said it's been frustrating to ticker a federation for which helium has truthful overmuch affection "not surviving up to the obligations" primitively acceptable retired by the Western subject confederation successful 2014 pursuing the Russian annexation of Crimea. 

He said he's encouraged by Carney's pledge.