Politics
UK won’t disclose cost of ‘low cost’ cruise missile programme
The UK claims its new cruise missile programme will be low cost. We’ll just have to take their word for it because they haven’t disclosed the cost. Despite this Forces News led with the headline “What is Stratus? Inside UK’s low-cost cruise missile as first tests planned for 2028″.
Okay, then…
The MOD-funded outlet reported on 24 August:
The first Stratus missile is scheduled for testing in 2028, a defence minister has said, as the UK Armed Forces look to improve their deep strike precision capability.
Defence Readiness and Industry Minister Luke Pollard said that the missile has finished testing on various elements of the missile, including its airframe design, engine, warhead and seeker performance.
Despite the bold headline, the military news network also noted:
The cost of a single missile has not been disclosed.
They added that according to the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), the programme would cost around £3bn. Which rather negates the idea the missiles will be low cost. If £3bn is cheap, what does an expensive missile programme retail for?
Defence minister Dan Jarvis said in July 2026:
We are building the weapons of the future to keep the UK and Nato secure for decades to come, backed by billions of pounds and working with our closest European allies.
A number of other nations are involved in the project. The overall cost is £37bn.
The Great British War Machine
UK PM Andy Burnham is currently in Ukraine for a state visit. A government press release said the new PM had gone to the country with missiles in mind:
To underline the strength of this commitment, the Prime Minister is set to announce that the Government has agreed that defence firm MBDA can release classified information on UK components for the long-range missile, SCALP, as Ukraine and France look to establish local assembly lines in Ukraine.
The missile is the French-produced version of the UK’s Storm Shadow, with both using shared French and British technology.
The move follows the UK being the first to gift long-range strike weapons for defensive purposes to Ukraine in 2023 and will allow the French and Ukrainians to move forward with the Ukrainian assembly of the missile.
It also complements the major UK effort to rapidly develop low-cost advanced long-range strike weapons for Ukraine through Project Brakestop.
Typical of the UK government to make grand claims about the costs of missiles without disclosing what those costs will be. As with so much of UK military and foreign policy, the public are being kept in the dark. It helps keep the Great British War Machine rolling along.
Featured image via the Canary
By Joe Glenton
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