Germany and UK to develop long-range strike weapon
Germany and the United Kingdom plan to jointly develop a long-range strike weapon and are inviting allies to participate in the project, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday.
Work has begun on developing the "deep precision strike" capability, Pistorius said at a meeting with his British counterpart John Healey in Berlin.
"Specifically, this means that we have started developing weapon systems with a range of more than 2,000 kilometres," Pistorius said.
"The current threat clearly shows that we must close all capability gaps as quickly as possible," he added.
The two countries also agreed to strengthen cooperation on anti-submarine capabilities.
The meeting focused on the implementation of the Trinity House Agreement, a bilateral agreement on defence cooperation.
With their plans for a long-range strike weapon, Germany and the UK are taking a leading role in the European Long-Range Strike Approach (ELSA) project.
Several other countries signed a declaration of intent to this effect at the NATO summit in Washington last year. The aim is to be able to destroy military installations or important infrastructure deep in an enemy's hinterland.
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