FEATURE | UK unveils radical defence overhaul to meet new threats

But on the size of the armed forces, the review said it would not reduce numbers, even as a greater emphasis is put on technology, but would increase the total number of regular personnel when funding allowed. Healey said the number of full-time soldiers would reach 76,000 in the next parliament, likely after 2029.

"The moment has arrived to transform how we defend ourselves," Starmer told workers at BAE Systems' Govan shipbuilding site in Scotland, saying he would, "end the hollowing out of our armed forces".

"When we are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, the most effective way to deter them is to be ready," he said.

Starmer has already said defence spending would increase to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, from 2.3 per cent, but critics and political opponents urged the government to put a date on when it would move to three per cent of GDP.

Reuters has previously reported that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wants members to raise defence spending to 3.5 per cent of their GDP, and a further 1.5 per cent on broader security-related items to meet Trump's demand for a five per cent target.