Why British waters are less safe under defence drone plans episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 29, 2026 · 15 MIN

Why British waters are less safe under defence drone plans

from This Is Why

Drones in, destroyers out. The Royal Navy looks set to be the biggest losers when the Defence Investment Plan is finally published. Instead of building a new fleet of state-of-the-art warships, we will have to rely on cheaper ‘common combat vessels’ to serve as hubs for a hybrid response to the threat from Russia. How will the change in military spending be received when Sir Keir Starmer makes his international swansong as prime minister at the NATO summit? And could he really be the next NATO secretary general, despite a mixed record on defence readiness? Mhari Aurora speaks to Sky’s security and defence editor Deborah Haynes. Have you got a question for the podcast? Email us: [email protected]

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 29, 2026

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Why British waters are less safe under defence drone plans

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