UK Defence Secretary outlines threats and spending 2025
Here’s what you need to know today. On 19 November 2025 at 9 Downing Street, Defence Secretary John Healey said the Russian surveillance ship Yantar had been near UK waters between 5 and 11 November. While a Royal Navy frigate and RAF P‑8 aircraft tracked it, the ship directed light lasers at British pilots, which he called deeply dangerous. He added that if the vessel travels south, the UK is ready.
Quick explainer: Yantar is used for intelligence gathering and for mapping undersea cables. Those cables carry internet data and connect energy grids; if they are damaged, everyday life is disrupted. This is why the UK closely monitors ships operating near these routes.
Are lasers weapons in this situation? Officials say the beams are used to dazzle or distract pilots rather than to bring a plane down. After the incident, ministers said the Navy’s rules of engagement were tightened so British ships can follow and monitor Yantar more closely.
Where were these encounters taking place? British “territorial waters” extend 12 nautical miles from the coast. Beyond that sits the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), up to 200 nautical miles, where the UK has resource rights but foreign vessels may still pass through. The government described Yantar as being on the edge of UK waters while under close watch.
What this means for you: undersea monitoring is now routine defence work. You might not see it every day, but it keeps card payments working, undersea power links steady and data flowing. Think of it as quiet deterrence-patrols, sensors and legal boundaries enforced with watchful presence.
Healey set the episode inside a wider picture. He listed the Iran–Israel confrontation, clashes between India and Pakistan, allegations of Chinese spying in the UK, Russia’s escalated war in Ukraine, more drone disruptions over Europe, doubled Russian incursions into NATO airspace and 90,000 cyber‑attacks on UK Defence systems in the past year. Use lists like this as a prompt in class to check definitions, dates and sources.
So what changes at home? The government points to the largest pay rise for forces personnel in more than twenty years, a £5 billion uplift in defence spending this year, returning 36,000 military family homes to public ownership and a Strategic Defence Review to speed up reform. Ministers frame security as the central organising principle of government.
The funding targets matter for planning. Healey reiterated the goal of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence earlier than previously expected. He and other ministers have also spoken about a broader allied push toward 5% of GDP on core defence and national security by 2035. For learners, remember that “percent of GDP” moves with the economy and inflation, so the cash total can shift.
Industry and jobs featured heavily. Ministers argue for a “defence dividend”: more artillery work in South Yorkshire, growth in Barrow’s submarine workforce, investment at Sheffield Forgemasters, and claims that roughly 70% of new spending and jobs are outside London and the South East. Officials say around 1,000 major defence contracts have been signed since July 2024, most with British‑based firms. Treat export and contract numbers as starting points for research, not end points.
New production lines and tech were another theme. The speech announced 13 potential munitions and explosives sites with £1.5 billion of funding and about 1,000 jobs, plus a visit to Plymouth to open a Helsing facility building sea and undersea drones. Local reporting says the Plymouth site will make AI‑enabled underwater gliders to help guard subsea infrastructure as part of a larger private investment.
Terms to know for lesson plans: the RAF’s P‑8 Poseidon is a maritime patrol aircraft used for anti‑submarine and surveillance missions; rules of engagement are the instructions that guide how and when forces respond; and the EEZ gives resource rights, not full sovereignty, so foreign ships may still pass under international law. These basics help you separate dramatic language from what forces actually do.
If you’re teaching or revising this topic, practise media literacy. Note what is confirmed (location, monitoring, lasers during tracking), what is a claim to revisit (future spending, export totals) and what needs follow‑up (factory timelines, allied targets). Keep checking primary documents and reputable wire reports as the story develops.