New Defence Secretary's mantra: higher spending must be matched by faster modernisation

Wes Streeting has said increased defence spending must be matched by reform and modernisation as he set out the mantra he intends to follow as Defence Secretary.

Speaking at the Farnborough International Air Show on his second day in the role, Mr Streeting said the MOD would need to make decisions more quickly, accept greater risk and work differently with the defence industry.

"Modernisation without investment is impractical, but investment without modernisation is irresponsible," he said. "This is the mantra I will now follow as Defence Secretary."

• King of the skies: Brontanax 'loyal wingman' drone is unveiled at Farnborough Airshow
• 'Not a typical politician': Who is new Def Sec Wes Streeting and what is his voting record?
• Ex para calls def sec role an 'immense honour' as he's replaced in Burnham reshuffle

Mr Streeting reminded the audience of his time as Health Secretary, arguing that additional NHS funding had delivered results because it had been accompanied by "a bold programme of reform and modernisation."

He said he would now apply the same approach to defence, combining higher spending with changes to procurement and the rapid introduction of new technology.

"My job, as Secretary of State, is to maximise our deterrence, and ensure that should deterrence fail, we have the capability to fight and to win," Mr Streeting said.

The government has committed £298bn to defence over the next four years, including an additional £15bn added to the settlement agreed at last year's Spending Review.

Mr Streeting said the MOD had agreed contracts worth more than £11.8bn in the 10 days following the publication of the Defence Investment Plan. 

Taking greater risks

Mr Streeting said the MOD would have to change its approach to risk to keep pace with changes in warfare.

As an example, he pointed to the fitting of a lower-cost precision weapon to RAF Typhoons, which he said had taken 42 days from beginning to end.

The weapon is the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, or APKWS, which has been integrated with Typhoon to provide a cheaper way of shooting down drones than the air-to-air missiles normally carried by the aircraft.

Mr Streeting said he would work with the Defence Industrial Joint Council to change the department's approach to decision-making.

"Not every decision will come off, but that's the price of moving at the pace of modern warfare, where delay and inaction pose the greater threat," he said.

StormFighter demonstrator targeted for 2027

The Defence Secretary presented the StormFighter Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme as a central part of the RAF's modernisation.

The programme is intended to produce autonomous aircraft that can operate alongside crewed jets such as Typhoon, F-35 and the future Tempest fighter.

Mr Streeting said the aircraft could gather intelligence, carry missiles and confuse enemy forces while flying in groups of five as far as 500 miles ahead of the Typhoon pilots controlling them.

He also claimed they would cost around a fifth as much as a Typhoon.

The Defence Investment Plan published in June had aimed to have a concept demonstrator flying by 2030, while seeking to bring the capability into service as quickly as possible.

Mr Streeting said the government now wanted a demonstrator to fly in 2027 and StormFighter to become operational before the end of 2030.

"I can announce today that our ambition is to get a demonstrator CCA flying in the air next year and have StormFighter operational by the end of the decade," he said.

The speech coincided with BAE Systems unveiling Brontanax, the UK's first uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft designed to operate alongside crewed jets.

Typhoon: sixth-generation fighter system

Mr Streeting also said more than £1bn would be spent upgrading Typhoon to keep the aircraft in service into the 2040s.

He described the integration of crewed and autonomous aircraft as a bridge towards the UK's future sixth-generation fighter system.

The UK, Italy and Japan are developing the sixth-generation Tempest fighter through the Global Combat Air Programme, with the aircraft expected to enter service in 2035.

Canada became the programme's first observer nation on 21 July.

Mr Streeting also announced a £708m extension to BAE Systems' existing contract for work on the UK's future combat air programmes.

BAE Systems will lead the work alongside Leonardo UK, MBDA UK and Rolls-Royce.