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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Eleni Courea Political correspondent

UK plans to build six weapons factories to bolster military readiness

United Kingdom John Healey Sir Keir Starmer Ministry of Defence
British army soldiers from the 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team stand on a Challenger 2 tank during a training exercise.
Spending boost is needed to deter adversaries, UK government says. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters

The UK will spend £1.5bn on building six munitions and energetics factories to “better deter our adversaries” as part of its long-awaited strategic defence review.

John Healey, the defence secretary, said the funds formed part of plans for an “always-on” weapons pipeline and would support the procurement of up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons.

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