Earlier this year, Rishi Sunak announced defence spending would rise to 2.5 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade, up from around 2.2 per cent. Sir Keir Starmer has said 2.5 per cent is the target at some point – leading to a strategic defence review to determine the new approach.
It means there are now question marks over how quickly the Tempest project can grow, with clarity about MoD spending not likely to come until mid-2025.
Mr Pollard was asked about the programme at the global air and space chiefs conference in London this week, giving no commitments about future spending. He added that “it’s not right for me to prejudge what might happen in the defence review”.
A former Tory MoD source told The Telegraph that “every single [defence] programme is now the subject to potentially very, very, very severe cuts”, given that Labour has abandoned the 2030 timeline.
Fumio Kishida, the Japanese prime minister, brought up the Tempest programme and “stressed the importance of cooperation” when he met Sir Keir at the Nato summit last week, according to a read-out issued by the Japanese.
A similar statement from Antonio Tajani, the Italian deputy prime minister, recounted a discussion on the “virtuous collaboration in the defence sector” with the UK including on the next generation of fighter jets, which he had with David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, after the election.