Britain spearheads NATO missile drive to break reliance on Trump | UK | News

Britain and its allies are preparing to develop a new generation of long-range strike weapons as the UK takes a central role in a major defence initiative aimed at strengthening the continent’s military independence.

The “Deep Precision Strike Coalition” is expected to be announced at this week’s NATO summit in Ankara as European members of the alliance look to build greater capability of their own.

The project is being developed as uncertainty grows over the future scale of the US military presence in Europe, with Donald Trump pushing allies to take more responsibility for their own defence.

Britain, Germany, Ukraine, France and the Netherlands are understood to be among the countries involved in the coalition, which is intended to create a new European deep-strike capability.

The move is one of several defence projects being explored as NATO members seek alternatives to relying heavily on American weapons systems.

The initiative has gathered momentum following Trump’s decision to abandon a previous plan to deploy a US battalion equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles to Germany.

That deployment had been designed as a short-term measure to give allies the ability to strike targets deep inside Russia while nations work on developing their own long-range weapons.

The new coalition will now examine what type of missile system could be produced, with detailed specifications expected to be decided at a later stage.

Weapons classed as deep precision strike systems are generally capable of accurately hitting targets between 1,000km and 3,000km away.

Military planners envisage such weapons being used against targets including aircraft before they launch operations, missile facilities and other strategic sites linked to an adversary’s war effort.

Britain and Germany are expected to have a major influence on the project because of their existing collaboration on a ground-launched missile programme designed to reach targets more than 2,000km away.

The two countries are also involved in the European Long-Range Strike Approach, a separate effort alongside Italy, France, Poland and Sweden to explore missiles with a range of different capabilities.

The deep-strike coalition is part of a wider push to develop independent defence systems.

Separate projects are also being considered to improve air defences and create its own intelligence and reconnaissance satellite network.

However, officials familiar with the discussions have warned that building a new missile system would be a long-term undertaking and could take many years before becoming operational.

The abandoned Tomahawk deployment was intended to bridge the gap while countries developed their own capabilities.

The announcement comes as NATO leaders prepare to meet in Ankara for a two-day summit focused on the alliance’s future security needs.

Trump is expected to continue pressing allies to increase defence spending, while the Pentagon reviews the future size and role of US forces stationed in Europe.

Washington has signalled that it wants allies to provide greater conventional defence support on the continent as the US focuses more attention on the Indo-Pacific region.

NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte has urged member states to arrive at the summit with “clear, concrete and credible plans” to meet agreed defence targets.

Last year, NATO’s 32 members committed to raising defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, including 3.5 per cent for core military requirements and 1.5 per cent for wider security-related infrastructure.

Asked what action would be taken against countries that failed to produce plans, Rutte said: “If one or two of them still have to be convinced, we have ways to do that.”