The United Kingdom will lead a new $50 billion (€42.7 billion / £37 billion) European initiative aimed at expanding deep precision strike capabilities across NATO, with participating allies expected to invest over the next decade to strengthen long-range deterrence and defence.
The initiative, announced by the UK Ministry of Defence, is expected to be launched by Prime Minister Keir Starmer together with around a dozen European partners during the NATO Summit. It seeks to accelerate the development of long-range precision weapons capable of striking targets at distances of at least 300 kilometers, with some future systems expected to reach beyond 2,000 kilometers.
According to the ministry, the program is designed to strengthen NATO’s collective deterrence while increasing Europe’s contribution to the Alliance’s long-range strike capabilities. It will also promote technology sharing, industrial cooperation and joint capability development among participating nations.
The UK has already committed £3 billion (€3.46 billion) by 2030 to its own deep precision strike capabilities under the Defence Investment Plan.
The initiative builds on several ongoing multinational programs. Under the Trinity House agreement, the UK and Germany are jointly developing stealth and hypersonic weapons with ranges exceeding 2,000 kilometers, with the UK investing £770 million (€888 million) over the next four years.
Britain is also working with France and Italy on the Stratus program, the successor to the Storm Shadow cruise missile. The project is developing next-generation stealth and high-speed missiles for striking high-value targets, naval assets and enemy air defence systems. The UK has allocated £1.4 billion (€1.61 billion) to the program over the next four years.
In addition, the UK has joined the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) program with the United States and Australia, which will provide the British Army with a supersonic ballistic missile capable of striking targets up to 500 kilometers away.
Together, the projects are intended to provide British forces with a family of long-range strike capabilities operating across land, sea and air domains.
Prime Minister Starmer said the initiative would help build “a stronger, more European NATO,” while Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said the investments would provide the UK and its allies with advanced long-range weapons capable of accurately engaging targets hundreds of kilometers away.
The UK Ministry of Defence said the initiative also reflects lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, where long-range precision strikes have played a key role in disrupting logistics and degrading enemy combat capabilities far behind the front lines.