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The Strategic Defence Review and spending plans for the RAF

In June 2026 the government published the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan. The plan “implements the vision” that the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), published the previous year, set out for the UK’s armed forces.

This briefing summarises the main recommendations of the SDR as they relate to the Royal Air Force and the spending allocated to the air domain for the next ten years, as set out in the Defence Investment Plan. It is part of a series of briefings published by the Commons Library on the Strategic Defence Review and Defence Investment Plan.

The Strategic Defence Review

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was commissioned by the Labour government shortly after it took office in July 2024 and was published on 2 June 2025 as The Strategic Defence Review 2025 – Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad.

The SDR was externally led by former NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson. The government endorsed the “vision and direction” of the review and accepted all 62 of its recommendations.

The SDR did not allocate specific funding for new capabilities, except in a few cases. Funding would be set out in a separate document, the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), initially expected to be completed in autumn 2025. The Defence Investment Plan was published in June 2026 and sets out £298 billion of spending on defence to 2030.

What did the SDR say about the RAF?

The SDR’s recommendations for the RAF’s future capabilities broadly involve adopting new technology and augmenting crewed aircraft with autonomous collaborative platforms:

The future of the RAF lies in accelerating its adoption of the latest technology and innovation, setting the pace for warfighting as the leading European air force.

There is a clear focus on combat aircraft, with upgraded Typhoons, more F‑35s (including a possible mix of A and B variants) and next-generation fast jets (Tempest) developed through the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP, a partnership of UK, Italy and Japan). The SDR recommended investing in autonomous collaborative platforms to support these crewed aircraft (the RAF defines autonomous collaborative platforms as “uncrewed vehicles which demonstrate autonomous behaviour and are able to operate in a collaborative manner with other assets”).

A replacement for the Hawk aircraft, flown by the Red Arrows, should be bought and the current fast-jet training arrangements should be “urgently revised”.

The RAF’s fleets of transport, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft should be expanded to provide “greater warfighting readiness”.

To improve resilience, the SDR called for investment in RAF infrastructure and runways, and a review of the storage of highly expensive weapons.

What aircraft will the RAF be flying in the future?

The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) committed to creating a “next generation Royal Air Force” operating an “evolving mix of 4th [Typhoon], 5th [F-35] and 6th generation [Tempest] crewed and uncrewed air systems, armed with the optimum mix of mass and exquisite weapons”.

Combat aircraft

More than £8.6 billion has been allocated over the next four years to the Global Combat Air Programme, which is developing Tempest. The DIP confirmed plans to buy the F-35A variant (the F-35B variant is in service). Initial investment in developing autonomous collaborative combat aircraft will be made, with further spending planned after 2030.

New aircraft for the Red Arrows

The Red Arrows, the RAF’s aerobatic display team, will receive new aircraft to replace the ageing Hawk aircraft they currently fly. The aircraft have not yet been chosen and the timing of when they will enter service is not clear. The DIP said that new investments between 2030 and 2035 would include “new aircraft for the Red Arrows”.

Transport and surveillance aircraft

Transport, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft will continue to be supported, with planned upgrades to the P-8 maritime patrol aircraft. The SDR recommended that the RAF explores options to enable the Protector remotely piloted air system to conduct maritime surveillance operations and therefore expand its use; however, the DIP does not mention this.

Shadow aircraft and oldest chinook helicopters retired

Shadow R1 aircraft, used predominantly by the Special Forces, will be retired early, as will the oldest chinook helicopters.

More information about all of these aircraft and the roles they perform can be found in the Commons Library briefing UK defence in 2025: aircraft fleets (this briefing will be updated in due course).

How much will this cost?

The Defence Investment Plan allocates £27.8 billion over the next four years (from 2026/27 to 2029/30) to the air domain. This is the highest planned spend of the three services.

Over half of this, £16.5 billion, is dedicated to the combat air sector:

• £8.6 billion on the global combat air system
• £5.4 billion on Typhoon
• £2.2 billion on F-35
• £300 million on collaborative combat aircraft (autonomous air systems)

At least £70 billion would be invested in new capabilities between 2030 and 2035.

Concerns raised about overall funding plans

The response to the DIP predominantly focused on its spending plans, specifically the amount allocated to defence overall, how it would be funded, and the timeframes.

Shadow Secretary for Defence James Cartlidge said “much of the capability that it contains will not be in service until the 2030s, when the threat we face is right now”.

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Defence James MacCleary said there was a “significant gap between the ambition and the resources required”.

More information on spending commitments can be found in Commons Library briefing UK defence spending.