In a major shift toward long-term military preparedness, the United Kingdom has unveiled plans to establish a permanent, scalable munitions production base as part of its transition to a war-ready posture amid rising global security threats. The initiative reflects a significant course correction in British defense policy following years of underinvestment, exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine and geopolitical instability across Europe and beyond.

The Ministry of Defence announced on Sunday that the UK will invest £1.5 billion ($2 billion) to construct six state-of-the-art munitions factories across the country. These facilities will create a continuous “always on” manufacturing capability, enabling Britain to rapidly scale up production of ammunition and other critical weaponry in times of crisis.

Since the 1990s, U.S. cities from Cleveland to Raleigh-Durham to Austin have leaned on research universities, teaching hospitals, and federally funded science to counter the collapse of mid-century manufacturing. That mix of steady clinical demand, grant-driven labs, and tech transfer offices that push IP into startups has quietly built America’s modern innovation backbone: biotech and oncology, robotics and AI, medical devices and materials science.

It’s imperfect; universities can feel extractive on tax bases, and prosperity often skips the blocks right outside the campus gates. But thriving metro areas have tethered to a research complex or health system. In Pittsburgh, nearly 200,000 people work in education and health, versus fewer than 7,500 in steel. On the ground, “eds and meds” isn’t a slogan; it’s payroll, procurement, and patient capital.

The British government on Tuesday announced significant changes to its flagship scheme for promoting clean energy, aiming to accelerate the expansion of renewables and strengthen the country’s progress toward its ambitious decarbonisation goals. The updates center on the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which is the UK’s primary tool for attracting investment in low-carbon electricity generation.

One of the most consequential changes is the extension of contract lengths under the scheme. Contracts awarded to offshore wind, onshore wind, and solar projects will now last 20 years, up from the current 15-year terms. This adjustment means the guaranteed payments for generated electricity will be spread out over a longer period, reducing the annual cost burden on consumers while simultaneously offering investors a longer horizon of revenue certainty.