By Sarah Young and Elizabeth Piper
LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged on Tuesday to spend an extra £15 billion ($20 billion) to modernise Britain's depleted armed forces in a long-delayed investment plan that is designed to prepare for the wars of the future and mark his legacy.
In what is most likely his last major policy announcement, Starmer said the increased spending over the next four years went further than a previous draft that prompted his ally, John Healey, to resign as defence minister this month. Healey had accused Starmer of failing to secure enough money to keep Britain safe.
Starmer's Defence Investment Plan falls short of the £28 billion wanted by defence chiefs and represents a 5% increase in annual defence spending, which will reach £79 billion a year by 2029. He will take it to Ankara for a NATO meeting on July 7 to 8, where he will want to signal that Britain is on the path to meet its commitment to reach defence spending of 3.5% of GDP by 2035.
But with his expected successor, Andy Burnham, due to take power as soon as July 20, he acknowledged that new governments could "build" on his blueprint.
Some critics said the plan, delayed for more than nine months, was too little, too late.
PLAN 'WILL STRENGTHEN BRITAIN'S DEFENCE'
"When the world is arming and aggression is rising, the best way to avoid war is to prepare for it, the best way to defend is to deter — to have the strength to make your adversaries to think again before they act," Starmer told an audience at a defence company in southern England.
Starmer said his blueprint would offer funding of £5 billion for investment in drones and autonomous weapons, create a hybrid navy and make the army more lethal, as part of a plan to make Britain war-ready, especially when military officials have warned that Russia could attack a NATO country as soon as 2030.
It would also strengthen Britain's nuclear deterrent and bolster a programme to build a next-generation stealth fighter jet for the Royal Air Force, Starmer said, adding that would create jobs and boost growth.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also welcomed Britain's plan, saying it was a "good step towards reaching the 3.5% of GDP on defence agreed in The Hague last year".
Britain's biggest defence company, BAE Systems, which has UK sales of more than £8 billion annually, said the plan provided clarity to the industry.
"The government's commitment to increased defence spending is vital to sustaining the specialist skills across our industrial base critical to national security," BAE CEO Charles Woodburn said.
With European nations under pressure from the United States to do more to defend themselves, NATO allies agreed to spend 5% of gross domestic product on defence by 2035, with 3.5% on core defence requirements and 1.5% on broader national security.
The new plan, Starmer said, would take Britain to 4.2% under that commitment.
While Britain is hoping to spend 3% of GDP on core defence by the next parliament expected in 2029, Germany plans to spend 3.7% of its GDP on defence by 2030 and France is aiming for 2.5%.
"By any measure this is a huge historic shift for our nation and a legacy in which I take pride," he said. Asked if it was sufficient to deter a possible Russian attack, Starmer said: "Yes... I am confident in that."
'COST-CUTTING BY ANOTHER NAME'
Defence chiefs have said there is a £28 billion funding gap over the next four years and, with the £15 billion uplift falling short of the total, critics say some equipment would not be bought or would be delayed, and there could be cuts to training, infrastructure maintenance and logistics.
"This is cost-cutting by another name, it's not an investment plan, it's sticking plasters," said Tom Sharpe, a retired Royal Navy commander, adding that the plan for a hybrid navy was "chronically underfunded".
Starmer defended the plan's costings, and said much of the additional spending would come from reallocating spending from different departments.
"Some capital projects, for example, on roads and energy, which are important but not immediately vital, will no longer go ahead as planned," he said.
"This plan represents our best judgment for what the country needs to meet this moment, and it is a platform on which I know my successor will build."
($1 = 0.7553 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Elizabeth Piper, Editing by William Maclean, Alex Richardson and Kate Holton)
