More Storm Shadows planned as PM says UK and France share responsibility to protect Europe
The UK and France share a "unique responsibility" for the security of Europe, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as the two countries agreed to purchase more Storm Shadow cruise missiles as part of a new defence agreement.
The new deal, which also includes closer nuclear cooperation, means the two nations will be ready to mount a joint nuclear response in the event of an extreme military threat.
The new agreement will see London and Paris commit to launching the next phase of their joint project for both deep strike and anti-ship missiles, paving the way to choosing the final design for Storm Shadow's replacement.
Nuclear partnership
The Prime Minister and President Emmanuel Macron have also agreed to deepen nuclear cooperation and work more closely than ever before on nuclear deterrence.
In a newly signed declaration, the UK-France nuclear partnership will state that the respective deterrents are independent but can be coordinated, and there is no extreme threat to Europe that would not prompt a response by both nations. Any enemy, therefore, could be confronted by the two nuclear forces.
This latest announcement comes as President Macron visits the UK for a state visit which included him addressing Parliament and attending a state banquet at Windsor along with a number of celebrities.
Sir Keir said that the threats are increasing, such as "from war in Europe, to new nuclear risks and daily cyberattacks".
"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," the Prime Minister added.
"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."
The two countries will also enhance cooperation on nuclear research.
The UK and France are the only European Nato members to have nuclear weapons of any kind.
Entente Industrielle
The new partnerships will be developed under a revived Lancaster House agreement through a new 'Entente Industrielle', which will help both economies grow through defence cooperation.
Speaking at the Franco-British summit in Downing Street, the Prime Minister said: "We're also updating the historic Lancaster House Treaty, an ambition that we put in motion very early on to strengthen our collective defence and security as Europe's only nuclear powers providing about 40% of European defence spending, we share a unique responsibility for the security of this continent."
Defence Secretary John Healey said the partnership will deal with "today's threats and tomorrow's challenges".
"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," Mr Healey said.
The 'Entente Industrielle' includes:
- The agreement to build the next-generation of deep-strike, anti-ship missiles to take over from the Storm Shadow cruise missile
- Improving the existing Storm Shadow cruise missile production lines in Stevenage to add to national stockpiles
- Jointly creating beyond visual range air-to-air missiles for the RAF’s fighter jets
- Beginning work on new advanced weapons systems like high-tech radiofrequency weapons, such as microwave weapons and jammers that could be fired to stop drones and missiles
- Using AI to make missiles and drones more lethal by writing algorithms for synchronised strikes
The Combined Joint Force (CJF)
Given the threat to European security, the UK and France will boost their jointly deployable force, refocusing it on defending Europe and moving it to a warfighting readiness.
The CJF will be able to command a Combined UK/French Corps for the first time, which is the highest scale of deployed ground forces from a command perspective.
Space and cyber forces will be integrated to combat new problems. This integration will mean that there will be improved responsiveness aided by data from beyond just the ground, sea, and air.
Coalition of the Willing and Ukraine
Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron have reasserted their leadership of the Coalition of the Willing, which is a group of more than 30 nations collaborating to organise military support for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
"And it's also right that we lead the response on Ukraine," he added.
"Later today, Emmanuel and I will bring the Coalition of the Willing together again to rally even more support to keep Ukraine in the fight for now, and to drive Putin to the negotiating table.
"On all these fronts, we are working to meet danger and uncertainty together with a show of force, a show of unity."
The CJF structures mean that the coalition will be able to work under UK-French leadership.
There will be more cooperation on an integrated missile system to defend Europe.
The London-led Diamond initiative will ameliorate Nato's integrated air and missile defence by making sure that separate air defence systems across the alliance work better.
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