Britain announces $270b defense program to defeat modern security threats

LONDON - Prime Minister David Cameron responded Monday to threats posed by terror groups in the Middle East by announcing one of the biggest ever defense spending programs worth 270 billion US dollars.

The extra money will be spent on defense equipment and support over the next decade, Cameron said in a statement issued by 10 Downing Street.

Included in the plans, being outlined later Monday by Cameron to MPs in the House of Commons, will be the recruitment of 10,000 military personnel who will make up two new strike brigades, each 5,000 strong, for rapid deployment missions.

There will also be nine new Boeing P8 maritime patrol aircraft and an 18-billion-U.S.-dollar uplift in the equipment budget.

Downing Street said extra funding will be focused on investments that will help to ensure Britain can respond to diverse threats in an increasingly dangerous and uncertain world.

The nine new Boeing P8 maritime patrol aircraft will be used for maritime surveillance, anti-submarine and anti-surface ship warfare, increasing further the protection of Britain's nuclear deterrent and the two new aircraft carriers currently being built.

The Ministry of Defense will extend the life of Britain's multirole Typhoon warplanes for 10 extra years through to 2040, meaning the country will have a total of seven frontline squadrons, consisting of around 12 aircraft per squadron.

Warplanes will also have improved ground attack capability and be fitted with new Active Electronically Scanned Array radar to ensure they can continue to operate in hostile environments in the future.

The two new Strike Brigades will be capable of rapid deployment, able to self-deploy thousands of kilometers, and with a much lower logistic footprint, using almost 600 armoured vehicles.

Writing Monday in the foreword to the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review, Cameron said: "Our renewed economic security means we can afford to invest further in our national security."

"This is vital at a time when the threats to our country are growing. From the rise of ISIL and greater instability in the Middle East, to the crisis in Ukraine, the threat of cyber attacks and the risk of pandemics, the world is more dangerous and uncertain today than five years ago," said Cameron.