Germany and Britain want to join forces. The two countries are strengthening their military cooperation. They want to jointly develop long-range precision weapons to defend Europe.
The Bundeswehr should become "conventionally the strongest army in Europe". This ambitious goal was set by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz in his first government statement in the Bundestag. "We must be able to defend ourselves so that we don't have to defend ourselves," Merz emphasized, looking at the threat from Russia. This must be done with the consent of the European partners, and a particular focus is placed on Germany's military cooperation with the UK.
It was agreed in the autumn of 2024 with an agreement that both sides described as "historic", and which was signed by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his British counterpart John Healy. There has been no such agreement between the two countries before, and the plans are yet to be specified.
Joint strategic goals
The two countries want to join forces - to protect the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. Not only important sea routes pass through the North Sea, but also gas pipelines and cables that supply electricity.
Following the alleged Russian attacks on undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, security experts fear similar attacks in the North Sea. The two sides want to counter with "a clear and comprehensive picture of the underwater situation", the agreement says.
Part of the plan is joint operations with submarines and maritime reconnaissance aircraft. It is planned that German P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft will help monitor the airspace over the North Atlantic from Scotland. The Bundeswehr has ordered such aircraft, and the British army is already using them, so German crews can now train there.
"These maritime patrol aircraft can fight submarines at long distances", German Defense Minister Pistorius emphasized after talks with his British counterpart. The partners are thus jointly strengthening NATO's anti-submarine warfare capabilities in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.
Development of long-range missiles
Both countries have strong arms industries, and cooperation is also planned in this regard. The arms concern "Rheinmetall" produces the "Boxer" transport tank in its factories in the United Kingdom, of which the British army has ordered 500. Among the key elements of the agreement is the joint development of precision weapons with a range of over 2,000 km, which other European countries can join.
Another area of cooperation is the development of armed drones. The Bundeswehr is lagging behind in this regard - it only started buying smaller combat drones this year. However, the British army has many years of operational experience in this area, which the Bundeswehr could benefit from.
Compatible systems
The two countries will also cooperate to a certain extent on combat aircraft. Since in this area Germany is developing a new system together with France and Spain, and the UK is developing another one together with Italy and Japan. "From a European perspective, it makes sense to establish interoperability so that the two systems can work together in the future," says security expert Benjamin Schreer.
He is referring to a problem that Europe has created for itself: there are too many different weapons systems that are somewhat incompatible. "We need common standards and simplification of systems in Europe", Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized immediately after taking office.
At a time when European NATO countries must take on more responsibility in the field of defense, German-British cooperation can send a signal. "It is a sensible building block" in addition to other forms of cooperation, Schreer points out. "The interesting question is to what extent Britain is willing and able to contribute to the defense of Europe. Because a significant increase in the United Kingdom's military budget is likely to become increasingly difficult."
What funds will the Bundeswehr receive
The question of the size of the future defense budget is also a matter of debate in Germany. Due to the change of government, there is currently no budget for 2025, but there are heated discussions about the necessary amounts. Foreign Minister Johan Vaddefull of the Christian Democratic Union supported the goal set by US President Donald Trump to provide up to five percent of GDP for defense, but was immediately criticized by coalition partners - the Social Democrats.
For Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, the size of the defense budget is to be determined by NATO decisions at the organization's upcoming summit in June. "We all know that it will be much more than the two percent that is currently relevant." Three percent of GDP or more was not "unrealistic". And according to the British defense minister, "it's not about how much we give, but how we do it".