Britain and Germany will sign what the British government calls a “beautiful defense deal” aimed at boosting security, investment and jobs.
Under the deal, German defense company Rheinmetall will open a new factory in the UK to make barrels for artillery guns – supporting 400 jobs.
Both countries will work together to develop a new long-range missile and drones.
German maritime surveillance aircraft will also periodically fly patrols in the North Atlantic from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.
Labor pledged to build closer military ties with Germany while in opposition and this is part of a wider push by this government to restore links with key European allies after Brexit.
Britain already has a defense pact with France – The Treaty of Lancaster House which was signed in 2010 by David Cameron and Nicholas Sarkozy – but this is the first with Germany.
Germany and the UK are the two biggest defense spenders in Europe and the biggest European military donors to Ukraine.
The Defense Secretary, John Healey, said it was a “landmark moment” bringing the two countries’ militaries and defense industries closer together.
In reality, the two nations are already cooperating as members of the NATO alliance.
In a joint venture they also build new tanks and armored vehicles for the British Army, Germany’s Rheinmetall and Britain’s BAE Systems formed RBSL to manufacture Boxer armored fighting vehicles and the latest Challenger 3 tank in Telford, Shropshire.
Under the new Trinity House deal, Rheinmetall will build a new factory in Britain to produce barrels for artillery guns – something Britain stopped doing more than a decade ago.
The site of the new factory has yet to be announced, but the Ministry of Defense (MOD) says it will support more than 400 jobs and will use British steel produced by Sheffield Forgemasters.
The steel producer was recently acquired by the British government. The first artillery guns are expected to roll off the production line in 2027.
The Trinity House deal also includes a commitment to develop a new long-range missile which the MOD says will be more accurate and can be fired further than any current systems – Britain’s Storm Shadow and Germany’s Taurus. Unlike Britain, Germany has refused to supply Ukraine with its Taurus cruise missile.
The UK and Germany will further work together to develop drones which could potentially fly alongside Typhoon jets operated by both countries.
German P8 maritime surveillance aircraft will periodically operate out of RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland to help patrol the North Atlantic. Other NATO allies have done the same for a number of years.
There is also a promise to strengthen the defense of NATO’s eastern flank; both Britain and Germany have already sent hundreds of troops to the Baltic states as part of NATO’s strengthened defense plans following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the deal would strengthen Europe and NATO.
“We must not take the security of Europe for granted,” he said, adding that the projects being launched would be open to other partners.