Despite public protests, the UK Conservative government has decided to announce £642m in further spending on a replacement for Trident nuclear submarines.
The Defense Secretary Michael Fallon is to make the announcement even though parliament is not scheduled to vote on whether to go ahead with the program until later this year.
Experts say the move will make it harder to pull out of the project, given that substantial sums will have already been spent.
The £642m will bring money already spent on the Trident replacement program to £3.9bn. The total cost of the program, which has steadily risen, is estimated at £31bn, the Guardian reported.
The government is backing the building of the four new nuclear submarines that are scheduled to become operational in the early 2030s and continue through to the 2070s. The Commons vote, pencilled in for the autumn, is almost certain to back the program, with Labour MPs split on the issue.