Europe will come up with its own weapons. 2 countries went to work

Germany and Britain are deepening military cooperation. They want to make precise long-range weapons. It is to defend Europe from possible attacks," writes Nina Werkhäuser in "Deutsche Welle".


Bundeswehra is to become "the strongest conventional army in Europe". This ambitious goal was announced by Chancellor Friedrich Merz in his first exposé in the Bundestag. “We must be able to defend ourselves so as not to gotta defend ourselves,” stressed the fresh head of the German government, bearing in head the threat from Russia. This is to be done in close cooperation with European partners, with Germany now putting peculiar emphasis on military cooperation with Britain.

It has already been sealed in autumn with an agreement which both countries considered historic; this is simply a alleged Trinity home agreement. It is named after a place in London where it was signed last October by German defence minister Boris Pistorius and his British counterpart John Healey. There has never been specified an agreement between the 2 countries before. Healey arrived on Thursday (15.05.2025) to Berlin to make the joint plans concrete.

Common strategical objectives

Britain, as a atomic power, is no longer a associate of the EU, but remains a strong military partner in NATO, which has common interests with Germany. “The UK is besides powerfully active in geographical regions that are crucial for Germany, i.e. in the Baltic States, in the far north, but besides in part in the east flank of NATO”, stressed Ben Schreer, head of the Berlin office of the global Institute of strategical Studies (IISS).

Both countries now want to join forces, for example to defend the North Atlantic and the North Sea. There are not only crucial trade routes going through the North Sea, but besides pipelines and cables that supply electricity from large offshore power plants to the coast.

After alleged Russian attacks on submarines in the Baltic Sea, safety experts fear akin attacks in the North Sea. Germany and the United Kingdom want to counter this by "a clear and comprehensive image of the underwater situation", as stated in the agreement.

It besides provides for joint operations involving submarines and long-range reconnaissance aircraft. German long-range P-8A Poseidon aircraft are expected to aid monitor airspace over the North Atlantic from Scotland in the future. The Bundeswehra has already ordered fresh aircraft of this type, which are utilized by the British Army, so German crews can already train in their service.

– These marine reconnaissance aircraft can fight submarines at long distances," stressed defence minister Boris Pistorius after talking to his British counterpart. In this way, the 2 partners jointly strengthened NATO's capacity to combat submarines in the North Atlantic and North Sea.

Long-range rocket development

There is simply a strong arms manufacture in both countries, and cooperation is besides planned in this area. The German arms company Rheinmetall manufactures in its facilities in the UK armored transporters Boxer, which the British army ordered in 500 pieces. 1 of the key elements of the agreement is the joint improvement of precision weapons over 2,000 kilometres, to which another European countries can join.

Another area of cooperation is the improvement of armed drones. The Bundeswehre lacks experience in this area, only this year it starts buying smaller combat drones. The British Army, on the another hand, has many years of operational experience in this field, which the Bundeswehr could benefit from.

Systems that are compatible

Both countries besides want to cooperate on combat aircraft of the future, at least to any extent. Germany, together with France and Spain, is developing a fresh system, while Britain, together with Italy and Japan, is developing another system. "From a European point of view, it is absolutely reasonable to guarantee at least interoperability, so that both systems can work together during joint future missions," stressed SPD safety Expert Ben Schreer.

It addresses the issue which is constantly hindering Europe: there are besides many different weapons systems that are partially incompatible. "We request common standards and simplification of systems in Europe," said Chancellor Friedrich Merz shortly after office.

At a time erstwhile the European NATO associate States must bear a greater burden of defence, German-British cooperation may have an crucial signal. It is simply a "sensible element" complementing another forms of cooperation, e.g. between Germany and France, claims Ben Schreer.

– What is interesting is what Britain will be ready and able to do for Europe's defence. And here, of course, there are any critical questions, especially about the defence budget of Britain, which will be increasingly hard to grow," the expert added.

How much money will the Bundeswehr get?

Germany besides has a question about the amount of the future defence budget. Due to the change of government, there is not yet a budget for 2025, but there are already heated discussions on the amounts needed.

On Thursday 15 May, Minister for abroad Affairs German Johann Wadephul of the CDU supported the mark set by US president Donald Trump to devote up to 5 percent of German GDP to defence in the future. And he was immediately stopped by a social democratic coalitionist.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius commented after gathering with John Healey that the improvement of the defence budget was under his authority. The mention point for him is NATO decisions to be taken during the upcoming North Atlantic Alliance summit in June: "We all know that this will be much more costly than the 2 percent that we are talking about today." 3 percent of GDP or more is not "unreal". British Defence Minister Healey added, "It's not just how much we spend, but besides how we do it."

The article was originally published on the pages of the German DW Drafting