Europe has struggled to develop its own deep-strike capabilities
A dozen NATO allies will on Wednesday commit more than $50 billion (€43.7 billion) over the next decade to develop long-range precision strike capabilities.
The programme, led by Britain, aims to strengthen NATO’s deterrence by accelerating investment in advanced deep precision strike weapons capable of hitting targets at distances of at least 300 kilometres, with some future systems expected to exceed 2,000 kilometres, according to a statement from the British Ministry of Defence.
“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,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
The UK, which committed £3 billion (€3.5 billion) to long-range strike capabilities by 2030 in its Defence Investment Plan, is currently involved in a joint programme with Germany to develop stealth and hypersonic weapons with ranges exceeding 2,000 kilometres, and in the Stratus programme with France and Italy to produce a successor to the Storm Shadow missile.
