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This is a very strong signal from Downing Street to the incoming Biden administration: the UK is making its biggest defense spending increase since the end of the Cold War with a 10-15% defense spending surge over the next four years. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secures-largest-investment-since-the-cold-war
The choice to overrule the Chancellor and move past defense austerity is real act of political will from Johnson which will impress DC securocrats. Most political pressures from covid to the NHS were pushing against a major investment in defense capacity. https://twitter.com/LOS_Fisher/status/1329397684420096002?s=20
Whilst UK headlines focus on Britain's new cyber force, space command and artificial intelligence agency: what's below the surface is core investment to make sure the UK military remains fighting fit -- extremely attractive to Biden's NATO planners. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/boris-johnson-pledges-16bn-military-spending-spree-598cr9qrz
One thing that has concerned British diplomats is DC has been creeping French attempts to supplant the UK as the key US military partner: this budget, ensuring London remains by far the biggest defense spender in Europe, will most likely forestall that. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54988870
Without the current spending boost there is a scenario where the UK would have fallen behind Germany in total figures and potential behind France as the largest defense spenders in Europe and second largest in NATO. This was something Johnson was keen to avoid.
Cameron's austerity whittled down the UK army to the smallest since the Napoleonic Wars and hit the military's ability to plan strategically: budget cuts were dictating policy. Johnson's reversal and budget ring fencing allows strategic planning again. https://www.ft.com/content/684a9881-c964-478b-b87b-84aa697810f2
Why Britain's investment matters a lot to the US is the UK invests heavily in interoperability: many NATO allies, such as Germany, are simply not at the same level and France has a long way to go. This is what Washington has been pushing NATO allies to do. https://www.stripes.com/news/europe/as-uk-ramps-up-defense-spending-pentagon-tells-other-allies-to-follow-suit-1.652644
After a year of good moves from London in foreign policy from Hong Kong to Belarus, this step makes me think UK has the opposite flaw to Macron's foreign policy, outlined in @RymMomtaz's piece. Unlike Paris, UK is falling to express its foreign policy. https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-think-tanker-in-chief/
