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Liam Fox has launched a damning critique of Labour's management of the defence budget in his speech to the Conservative Party conference.
The defence secretary said the Labour administration behaved like "out-of-control online shoppers who kept ordering more and more without once considering how they might pay for them when the goods arrived".
Dr Fox said the annual debt interest being paid by the UK would fund 300 helicopters and 13,000 extra troops.
He announced additional support for soldiers and veterans with mental health problems, as well as a 24 hour helpline to help tackle post-conflict suicides.
Fox also restated the government's commitment to maintaining the UK's nuclear deterrent by replacing the Trident missile system, a source of tension with coalition partners the Lib Dems.
He addressed the Conservative party conference in Birmingham days ahead of the completion of the strategic defence and security review, after negotiations over cuts of 10-20 per cent demanded by the chancellor.
The defence secretary became embroiled in controversy after a confidential letter he sent to the prime minister warning against defence cuts was leaked to the media.
He told the audience in Birmingham:"I didn't come into politics wishing to see a reduction in our defence budget. Neither did the prime minister.
"But while we can never predict where events will take us or the unavoidable bills we will have to pay as a consequence, we must confront the ghastly truth of Labour's legacy.
"During their time in office Labour pushed projects ever more desperately into future years to try to make an impossible budget balance in year, only to increase the overall cost of the defence programme still further.
"They behaved like out-of-control online shoppers who kept ordering more and more without once considering how they might pay for them when the goods arrived.
"The price of this irresponsibility will ultimately be paid for by reductions as we try to return defence to a sound footing.
"So we face the SDSR with unavoidably constrained finances. And they did all of this during a time of war."
He added: "Never has a defence review been carried out under such extreme circumstances."
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, foreign secretary William Hague said meetings were still taking place, with some "very important decisions" remaining over the defence budget.
"Liam Fox fights his corner very well, of course, as you would expect him to. We will come to the right conclusions together," Hague said.
"We have to deal with the situation that Liam has been left with by Labour predecessors where the defence budget is £38bn over-committed."
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