Jobs Boost Payoff From Historic UK-Germany Defence Agreement

Europe's two biggest defence spenders have signed an landmark mutual agreement in an accord that breaks new ground and heralds the construction of a new artillery gun barrel factory in the U.K., amid a range of planned collaborations on unmanned systems, armoured vehicles and weapons. 

Defence Secretary John Healey MP and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius signed the Trinity House Agreement on Wednesday.

As per a recent press statement from the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD) the deal will bring the two nations — once the main antagonists in two global 20th-century conflicts — closer together than ever before.

The partnership should provide a welcome boost to both economies in terms of investment and jobs. Under the agreement Rheinmetall will open a U.K. factory to manufacture artillery gun barrels using British steel produced by Sheffield Forgemasters. German aircraft will also fly out of Scotland as part of the deal.

In the longer term the two nations plan to cooperate on a range of innovative defence projects across all domains: land, air, sea, space and cyber. This includes working jointly to rapidly develop brand-new precision deep-strike weapons with more range than current systems.

There is also a long-term commitment to manufacturing Boxer Armoured Fighting Vehicles, and to support and expanded complex weapons development in the UK, paving the way for a Sting Ray Torpedoes procurement programme.

Other elements of the deal include more joint Eastern Flank training exercises on Europe's border; collaboration on land-based, maritime, and air-power drone systems; cooperation in protecting Critical Undersea Infrastructure (CUI); German P8 aircraft operating out of Lossiemouth to help protect the north Atlantic; extra support for Ukraine via new joint work to equip German Sea King helicopters with modern missile systems, and more.

The MoD statement noted the agreement marked "a fundamental shift in the U.K.’s relations with Germany" and "will strengthen national security and economic growth in the face of growing Russian aggression and increasing threats."

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: "The Trinity House Agreement is a milestone moment in our relationship with Germany and a major strengthening of Europe’s security.

It secures unprecedented levels of new cooperation with the German Armed Forces and industry, bringing benefits to our shared security and prosperity, protecting our shared values and boosting our defence industrial bases."

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said: "The U.K. and Germany are moving closer together. With projects across the air, land, sea, and cyber domains, we will jointly increase our defence capabilities, thereby strengthening the European pillar within NATO. We can only strengthen our ability to act together. This is why our cooperation projects are open to other partners."

"We must not take security in Europe for granted. Russia is waging war against Ukraine, it is increasing its weapons production immensely and has repeatedly launched hybrid attacks on our partners in Eastern Europe.

"With the Trinity House Agreement, we are showing that the NATO Allies have recognised what these times require and are determined to improve their deterrence and defence capabilities."

The announcement came just days after Britain announced other plans to help strengthen NATO’s eastern flank via a new defence roadmap signed with Estonia including and agreement to cooperate on missile defence.

• You can read more details on the U.K. MoD website