UK to plough ‘at least’ 5% of defence budget into R&D

Prime minister Rishi Sunak also announces plans for Defence Innovation Agency

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak’s plans for an increased defence budget will feature a major commitment to R&D and innovation.

Sunak announced yesterday an increase to defence spending to a new baseline of 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, which would deliver an additional £75 billion for defence by the end of the decade, including some £3.75bn for R&D, as the government said that “at least 5 per cent of the defence budget is to be committed to R&D”.