UK to lead European initiative to make long-range missiles for Nato members

The United Kingdom will lead a European initiative to make long-range missile for Nato members, according to The Telegraph.

The initiative, dubbed 'Deep Precision Strike Collision', is aimed at ending the reliance on the United States for weapons.

The initiative will be unveiled on the sidelines of the Nato Summit in Ankara, Turkey.

The UK is understood to be joined in the initiative by Germany, Ukraine, France, and the Netherlands.

The development comes at a time when European nations are racing to plug the gaps left by American withdrawal from the continent. Under plans shared with Europe, the United States is set to cut up to a third of troops, fighter planes, and warships out of Europe.

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The missile initiative is aimed at plugging the gap created by US President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel a Joe Biden-era plan to deploy Tomahawk missiles in Germany, which would give European allies the ability to strike inside Russia as and when needed.

The initiative will also be aimed at turning Nato more Europe-led, with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer set to pledge at the summit to create a “more European Nato than ever before”, which will stand “ready to support Ukraine and face the long-term threat posed by an increasingly reckless and dangerous Russia”, according to The Telegraph.

UK & Germany to take lead in 1-3,000 km range missiles

While specifics are not yet out, the deep precision strike class of missiles have a broad range of 1,000-3,000 kilometres with pinpoint accuracy.

The Telegraph reported that the UK and Germany are expected to take the lead in the initiative to make such missiles.

The idea behind developing such missiles is to destroy the adversary's bombers preparing for take-off or hit their military production facilities.

The UK and Germany are also part of another missile-related initiative, the European Long-Range Strike Approach, which is a broader programme aimed at making missiles of various ranges. The programme involves Italy, France, Poland, and Sweden.

But it is unlikely that either of these programmes can plug the gap created by the withdrawal of American assets from Europe, and the cancellation of the Tomahawk's deployment, because it would take years for a missile to transition from a drawing board to a military's arsenal.