Sir Keir Starmer is due to meet US President Joe Biden for his first face-to-face meeting at the White House later.
Speaking to reporters on the flight, Sir Keir said he hoped the bilateral meeting in Washington DC would provide an opportunity to discuss NATO and the so-called special relationship between the UK and the US.
“The relationship between the UK and the US is obviously a very special one,” he said, adding: “There are special aspects to it when it comes to defence and security, including our commitment to Nato, for obvious reasons.”
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He also told reporters that the UK was “firmly committed” to spending 2.5 percent of its national income on defence, but avoided setting a deadline for when this should be achieved.
A defense review ordered by the new administration will provide a roadmap for achieving that goal.
Defence Secretary John Healey said the review would help the government “take stock of the threats we face, the capabilities we need for the future and the current state of our armed forces”.
Asked when the target would be met, he said the government needed to have an “opportunity to open the books and take stock of its dire financial situation”.
He said a defence review could not be carried out in a matter of weeks, but would be carried out “appropriately” and “expeditiously”.
The Conservatives, who pledged during the election to reach 2.5 per cent by 2030, say failure to provide a timeline “raises serious doubts” about the government’s commitment to security.
The Prime Minister is travelling with Mr Healey, as well as Foreign Secretary David Lammy and European Relations Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds.
After arriving in Washington, Sir Keir and Thomas Symons met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Prime Minister also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“The government has changed but our approach has not,” Sir Keir said, reaffirming his support for Ukraine.
Mr Trump told the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason that he had spoken to Zelensky “about what further help we need”, and said he would use the NATO summit “to secure that help agreement”.
The British prime minister also said he wanted to “send a message to President Putin” about NATO’s resolve, saying “NATO is more united than ever” and that he was “absolutely clear about the threat of Russian aggression”.
Zelensky thanked Britain for being “with us from the very beginning of the war.”
While the Prime Minister is in Washington, the swearing-in of more than 300 new MPs continues in Westminster, preparing for the King’s Speech to set out Government policy at the opening of Parliament next week.
On the flight to the US, Sir Keir was asked whether he thought the age limit the Government plans to introduce into the House of Lords, which would require peers to retire at 80, should be applied across the board.
This will have an impact on fellow Labour MPs such as Sir Alf Dubs, 91, who fled the Nazis for Britain as a child and has long campaigned for refugee rights.
Sir Keir said: “There are over 800 members in the House of Lords – it is simply too big.”
“We need to reduce the size of the House of Lords so that it doesn’t affect the way representatives are chosen in other countries. This has to do with the size of the House of Lords.”
