BORIS Johnson will today announce a huge £16.6billion war chest for a space age military to transform our armed forces.
The biggest investment in defence since the Cold War will be used to create a new space command, cyber force and artificial intelligence agency.
The Prime Minister will declare the “era of retreat is over” in the biggest cash injection for our armed forced in three decades.
The largest chunk of the extra money will be spent on a “space command” that could launch Britain’s first rocket in 2022.
Billions of pounds have also been earmarked for a National Cyber Force of hackers to tackle online threats.
It will be a joint operation between the military and spy agency GCHQ.
A new Artificial Intelligence agency will be created to focus on the advances in that area.
It is thought it will be part of the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
‘THE ERA OF RETREAT IS OVER!’
Boris Johnson is expected to say in a statement: “I have taken this decision in the teeth of the pandemic because the defence of the realm must come first.
“The international situation is more perilous and more intensely competitive than at any time since the Cold War and Britain must be true to our history and stand alongside our allies.
“To achieve this, we need to upgrade our capabilities across the board.”
He added: “This is our chance to end the era of retreat, transform our armed forces, bolster our global influence, unite and level up our country, pioneer new technology and defend our people and our way of life.”
The government said the increased military spending will cement the United Kingdom’s position as the largest defence spender in Europe, the second largest in NATO, and allow increased investment in areas such as cyber and space.
The announcement comes after the head of the RAF Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston said that future wars may be won or lost in space.
Downing Street warned that threats to the country would no longer be confined to a distant battlefield, adding Britain’s enemies could reach people “through the mobile phones in their pockets or the computers in their homes.”
