Britain to lead European project to build long-range Nato missiles and move away from US reliance

Britain is set to lead a major European project aimed at developing long-range missiles in a bid to reduce Nato's reliance on American weaponry.

The "Deep Precision Strike Coalition" will be revealed today at the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, according to diplomats and officials who spoke to The Telegraph.

Sir Keir Starmer is said to be using the gathering of world leaders to commit to building a "more European Nato than ever before", one that stands "ready to support Ukraine and face the long-term threat posed by an increasingly reckless and dangerous Russia."

Ahead of the meeting, the Prime Minister's official spokesman warned that alliance members face Russian threats "on our doorstep", citing increased violations of Nato airspace and territorial waters over the past two years.

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The initiative brings together Britain, Germany, Ukraine, France and the Netherlands in an effort to develop advanced weaponry capable of competing with Russia's output.

These weapons fall within the deep-precision-strike category, designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy at distances ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 kilometres.

Such missiles would enable European forces to destroy enemy aircraft on the ground before takeoff or strike military production facilities deep within hostile territory.

The need for such weapons comes after Donald Trump scrapped Joe Biden's plan to station a Tomahawk cruise missile battalion in Germany – originally intended to give Europe the capacity to reach targets inside Russia.

Regardless, the cancelled US deployment was merely meant to serve as a temporary measure while European nations built their own deep-strike systems.

Germany is also expected to assume a leading role within the coalition, building on an existing collaboration with Britain on a ground-launched missile programme with a range exceeding 2,000 kilometres.

Both nations are also participants in the European Long-Range Strike Approach - a parallel project developing missiles of various ranges alongside Italy, France, Poland and Sweden.

Additional projects said to be in development include an independent European air defence network and intelligence and reconnaissance satellite systems.

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Despite the milestone, sources indicate that any European missile could take decades to be developed and become operational.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is pressing European allies to increase defence spending, with Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte demanding members arrive at the summit with "clear, concrete and credible plans" to reach the alliance's targets.

Last year, Nato's 32 members agreed to raise spending to 5 per cent of GDP, comprising 3.5 per cent for core defence and 1.5 per cent for security-related infrastructure.

Washington has proposed penalising nations that fail to meet these targets, by limiting their leaders' access to President Trump or reducing their priority for American weapons purchases.

"If one or two of them still have to be convinced, we have ways to do that," Mr Rutte earlier warned at a press conference.

European allies and Canada are projected to invest £222 billion on defence this year, with nations barring the US currently spending approximately 4 per cent of GDP.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to deliver a defence speech today, warning that a Russian attack on Nato "would put Britain in direct conflict with the world's biggest nuclear armed state."

"This is a critical moment in our national history, and our politics should be reflecting the gravity of the situation," she is expected to say, criticising the decision to send "an outgoing Prime Minister who is now completely powerless to that Nato summit."

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