Britain and France are to order more highly lethal Storm Shadow cruise missiles, while stepping up work on its replacement as part of a new refreshed agreement signed today (Thursday 10 July).
The new agreement will see the UK and France commit to launch the next phase of their joint project for both deep strike and anti-ship missiles – a step closer to selecting a final design for Storm Shadow’s replacement.
The joint development effort will sustain 1,300 highly skilled jobs across the UK, boosting the economy in line with the Government’s Plan for Change. Upgrading the existing Storm Shadow production lines will support more than 300 jobs at manufacturer MBDA.
The Prime Minister and President Emmanuel Macron will also today agree to deepen their nuclear cooperation and work more closely than ever before on nuclear deterrence.
In an important step forward for the UK-France nuclear partnership – a newly signed declaration will state for the first time that the respective deterrents of both countries are independent but can be co-ordinated, and that there is no extreme threat to Europe that would not prompt a response by both nations.
As such, any adversary threatening the vital interests of Britain or France could be confronted by the strength of the nuclear forces of both nations. Co-operation between both countries on nuclear research will also deepen, while working together to uphold the international non-proliferation architecture.
The UK and France are Europe’s only nuclear powers, with deterrents that contribute significantly to the overall security of NATO and the Euro-Atlantic.
Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said:
From war in Europe, to new nuclear risks and daily cyber-attacks – the threats we face are multiplying.
As close partners and NATO allies, the UK and France have a deep history of defence collaboration and today’s agreements take our partnership to the next level.
We stand ready to use our shared might to advance our joint capabilities – equipping us for the decades to come while supporting thousands of UK jobs and keeping our people safe.
Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, said:
The UK and France are stepping up together to meet today’s threats and tomorrow’s challenges. We are committed to driving defence as an engine for growth, delivering better fighting capabilities faster, and ensuring our armed forces can operate side by side – from the High North to the Black Sea.
This partnership strengthens our leadership in Europe, ensures continued support for Ukraine, and sends a clear signal to our adversaries that we stand stronger, together.
By deepening defence industrial cooperation with France, it will boost the UK’s own national resilience, ability to deter against attacks, and defend against threats, reinforcing the contribution to NATO.
The new partnerships will be developed under the refreshed Lancaster House agreement through a new ‘Entente Industrielle’ making defence an engine for growth.
These partnerships include:
- Agreeing to build the next generation of deep strike, anti-ship missiles, replacing the lethally effective Storm Shadow. This new joint effort will sustain 1,300 high skilled jobs in the UK, boosting the UK economy in line with the Government’s Plan for Change
- Upgrading the existing Storm Shadow cruise missile production lines in Stevenage to bolster national stockpiles, supporting more than 300 jobs within MBDA and the wider supply chain and making defence investment an engine for growth
- Jointly developing the next generation of beyond visual range air-to-air missiles for the Royal Air Force’s fighter jets
- Starting work on new advanced weapons to give an advantage against adversaries. This will include a new partnership to develop high-tech radiofrequency weapons such as microwave weapons and jammers that could be used to shoot down threats like drones and missiles
- The UK and France will also look to harness the power of AI to make their missiles and drones more lethal, by developing algorithms for synchronised strikes
Under an ambitious new package of defence cooperation under the Lancaster House 2.0 declaration, both countries’ militaries will work closer together than ever before. Recognising the increased threat to European security, the UK and France will expand its jointly deployable force, refocusing it on defending Europe, moving to warfighting readiness to deter, and countering any adversaries.
The Combined Joint Force will be able to command a Combined UK/French Corps for the first time – the highest scale of deployed ground forces from a command perspective – made up of thousands of troops and working side-by-side with NATO allies.
For the first time it will also integrate space and cyber to counter new threats, boosting the abilities of the UK and France’s joint forces to quickly respond to developments on the battlefield through increased awareness and responsiveness supported by data from beyond just the ground, sea, and air.
The Combined Joint Force is a crucial step forward in the UK and France stepping up their leadership within NATO, setting a clear path to meet the Government’s Strategic Defence Review commitment of NATO’s strategic Reserve Corp and stepping up on European security.
The UK and France will reaffirm their joint leadership of the Coalition of the Willing – a group of over 30 nations working together to coordinate military support for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. The CJF structures provide the bedrock for the coalition, enabling allies to operate under UK-French leadership.
This will include cooperating further on an integrated missile system to defend Europe. The UK-led DIAMOND initiative will improve NATO’s integrated air and missile defence by ensuring that the different air defence systems across the Alliance operate better and more jointly across the alliance.
These new agreements will continue to build on the Government’s first priority of keeping the country safe, which is a foundation of the Plan for Change.
