Sunak orders new artillery shells and urges NATO chiefs to spend more on defence
Rishi Sunak will urge NATO leaders to boost defence spending when he jets into Lithuania on Tuesday for a crunch summit.
The Prime Minister is due to attend a two-day meeting in the capital Vilnius where Russia’s war in Ukraine will dominate negotiations. Hero President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to plead for more weapons and a timeline for NATO membership when he joins the talks.
Mr Sunak, who has said Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in NATO, will campaign for all alliance countries to boost funding for their armed forces when he addresses the meeting. The Prime Minister said tonight: “When thousands of Russian troops crossed the border in February last year, it marked a grim new chapter in Europe and NATO’s history.
President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend this week's summit (Zuma Press/PA Images)"In the 500 days that have elapsed since we have witnessed the most terrible crimes and human tragedies in Ukraine. But we have also seen the NATO alliance come together like never before in support of Ukraine and with firm determination that Russia cannot succeed; that is work we need to continue this week.”
The PM will confirm he has placed a £190million order with BAE Systems for thousands more 155mm artillery shells - creating more than 100 jobs.
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BAE Systems chief executive Charles Woodburn said: “We’re incredibly proud of our role in delivering equipment to protect our armed forces and as the UK Ministry of Defence’s long-term strategic partner for munitions supply, we’re actively mobilising our operations in support of our NATO allies.
“This multi-million pound investment will enable us to significantly ramp up production and sustain vital sovereign capability to deliver cutting-edge munitions, whilst creating and sustaining highly-skilled jobs across the UK.”
Mr Sunak will also urge allies to boost defence funding, with only 11 of NATO’s 31 nations meeting a pledge to spend 2% of GDP on their militaries. "We cannot let the fog of war obscure the clear lessons our alliance must learn if we are going to outpace and outmanoeuvre those who seek to do us harm,” he said.
An RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint spy plane has been flying over Lithuania (MOD Crown Copyright)“That is why the UK is investing record amounts in defence - to make our armed forces more lethal and more deployable, and to ready our defence industry for the challenges ahead. “That’s something we need to see across NATO – starting with meeting the 2% commitment.”
Coalition leaders meet amid tight security in Vilnius, which lies just 20 miles from the border with Belarus - a key regional ally of Russia. NATO spy planes were tonight flying sorties over the country to protect leaders.
They included an RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint, flight RRR7210, and based at RAF Waddington, Lincs, flying at 31,000ft and an E-3A Sentry, callsign NATO11 and stationed at Geilenkirchen. Alliance leaders could clash over Sweden’s NATO membership bid, currently being held up by Turkey.
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