UK, Germany Sign Historic Defence Agreement With Commitments to Support Ukraine
On Wednesday, the United Kingdom and Germany signed a historic defence agreement, the Trinity House Agreement, which provides for the strengthening of bilateral defence cooperation in all areas. This was reported on the British government's website.
The agreement includes the development of new long-range weapons, as well as joint commitments to build Ukraine's military capabilities.
‘The conclusion of the Trinity House Agreement marks a fundamental shift in the UK's relationship with Germany and for European security. This agreement between two of Europe's top defence spenders will strengthen national security and economic growth in the face of growing Russian aggression and increasing threats,’ the UK Ministry of Defence said.
The defence agreement envisages systematic cooperation between the UK and Germany over the coming years on a range of innovative defence projects across all domains (air, land, sea, space and cyberspace). This includes working together to rapidly develop ‘an entirely new long-range weapon that can operate at greater distances with greater accuracy than current systems, including Storm Shadow’.
The agreement also envisages the opening of a new factory in the UK to produce artillery barrels, continued cooperation on Boxer armoured vehicles and the launch of cooperation on unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as increased joint efforts to strengthen NATO's eastern flank and protect critical undersea infrastructure.
According to a joint communiqué by the UK and German defence ministers, the defence agreement also contains a commitment to continue military support for Ukraine.
‘We are committed to working together for as long as it takes to support and empower Ukraine to withstand Russian aggression. Our common will is unequivocal, we will continue to provide Ukraine with the necessary military capabilities. Our teams of specialists and our defence enterprises will work even more closely to ensure Ukraine's victory and achieve a just and sustainable peace,’ the communiqué says.
It is noted that in the short term, the UK and Germany will jointly provide Ukraine with ‘new offensive capabilities, supporting the equipping of Sea King helicopters provided by Germany with modern missile systems’.
‘In the long term, we will work more closely together in coalitions to assist Ukraine, using the experience gained to continuously develop our cooperation. The UK will increase its support for the armoured coalition led by Germany and Poland, and Germany will support the drone coalition led by the UK and Latvia,’ the British and German defence ministers said.