UK to lead 12-nation $50 billion deep precision strike missile initiative

The United Kingdom will lead a European initiative committing around a dozen NATO allies to spend $50 billion (approximately £37 billion) on deep precision strike capabilities over the next ten years, Downing Street has announced in a press release published in both Russian and English.

Initiative Launch at NATO Summit

Prime Minister Keir Starmer was set to convene partner nations at the NATO summit in Ankara to launch the initiative. The government stated the programme will deliver the most advanced long-range weapons NATO will have at its disposal, with the ability to strike targets from no less than 300 kilometres away to, in some cases, beyond 2,000 kilometres, with pinpoint accuracy.

Downing Street described the initiative as further evidence of allies stepping up to build a stronger, more European NATO. It said the effort will place deep precision strike at the centre of the alliance's defence agenda next year, enabling European allies to share expertise, technology and industrial collaboration to rapidly advance capability.

Prime Minister's Statement

"I am determined to ensure the safety of the UK and our Allies and to do that, we must step up to deliver a stronger, more European NATO. The UK is already working with partners to develop exquisite capability that will give our Armed Forces the ability to defend and deter thousands of kilometres from the front line, but this UK-led initiative will allow us to step up our cooperation, bringing European Allies together to ensure NATO remains safe and secure for years to come."

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— Prime Minister Keir Starmer

The government cited Ukraine's use of long-range strikes against logistics hubs deep behind Russian lines as evidence of the game-changing battlefield impact such systems can have.

Existing UK Commitments

The announcement rolls together the UK's existing deep strike commitments under a single European banner. Britain has already allocated:

• £3 billion behind its own long-range fires programmes in the Defence Investment Plan, including:
• £770 million over four years for a joint stealth and hypersonic weapons programme with Germany under the Trinity House agreement, initially focused on ground-launched capability with a range beyond 2,000 kilometres, expected in service in the 2030s
• £1.4 billion for Stratus, the trilateral successor to Storm Shadow being developed with France and Italy, which already sustains more than 1,300 jobs at MBDA in Stevenage and Bolton

• The UK is separately joining the American and Australian Precision Strike Missile programme to give the Army a supersonic ballistic missile reaching up to 500 kilometres

Defence and Foreign Secretary Statements

"We are building the weapons of the future to keep the UK and NATO secure for decades to come, backed by billions of pounds and working with our closest European allies. Our new suite of deep precision strike weapons will give our forces the ability to strike targets hundreds of kilometres away with great accuracy, strengthening NATO and deterring our adversaries."

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— Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis

"[The capability sends] a clear message to President Putin; NATO is stronger, more European and ready to defend our citizens against the long-term threat posed by him and the Russian state."

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— Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper

Russian Threat Assessment

Downing Street said the Prime Minister would use the summit to underline the scale of the Russian threat, citing:

• More than 700 NATO interceptions of Russian aircraft approaching allied airspace over the past two years
• A 30 per cent surge in Russian military activity around UK waters

The government stressed that the alliance does not seek confrontation with Russia but must be ready to defend every ally.