Britain and Germany’s defense cooperation plans face tough choices

BERLIN — British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting arrives in Berlin on Monday to discuss closer military cooperation with Germany. But internal German defense ministry briefings seen by POLITICO show the two countries still face tough choices over how to work together. The documents, prepared for internal talks with various defense companies ahead of Streeting’s visit, reveal how Britain and Germany intend to divide responsibility for developing two new types of missiles, the industrial competition taking shape and the technological challenges that remain. The stakes extend well beyond their bilateral relationship. Russia’s war against Ukraine has exposed gaps in Europe’s defenses, while uncertainty over America’s long-term military commitment has increased pressure on European governments to develop more of their own weapons. Streeting will meet his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, as the countries discuss the development of long-range missiles together, even as Berlin weighs whether to join Britain’s next fighter-jet program or pursue a different European partnership. “The defining test is not where every single component of a piece of kit or equipment was made,” Streeting said on Oct. 22 at the opening of a British artillery factory by German arms giant Rheinmetall. His message: Allies must prioritize delivering weapons over competing industrial interests. Building Europe’s next missiles At the heart of the partnership is a plan to develop weapons capable of hitting targets more than 2,000 kilometers away. Known as Deep Precision Strike, or DPS, the project aims to give European forces the ability to strike far behind enemy lines without relying on American missiles. The internal briefings reveal how Britain and Germany intend to divide the work. Britain will lead development of a missile designed to fly low and evade enemy radar, known as the High-End Cruise Missile. The first version is expected to be ready for military use in 2032. Germany will take charge of a different weapon, designed to travel several times the speed of sound. A rocket would carry this so-called hypersonic glide vehicle high into the sky before releasing it toward its target. Berlin aims to have it ready for military use by 2035. The two weapons are the centerpiece of the partnership, but Germany and Britain are also considering other ways to strengthen their long-range strike capabilities, the briefing shows. For the two-part DPS project, the plans involve significant investment. Britain has committed £770 million over four years to the wider missile effort. Separate German budget material seen by POLITICO identifies more than €9 billion in future spending, although without a defined timeframe. But agreeing which country leads each project is only part of the task. The countries must also decide which companies will develop the weapons. Competition behind the cooperation For the German-led hypersonic weapon, the ministry plans to have two companies develop competing experimental versions by 2029. One is MBDA, Europe’s established missile manufacturer. The other is Hypersonica, a much smaller German-British startup. Their designs would be tested before Berlin decides how to proceed. The competition could prove sensitive. According to the internal German briefing, the ministry anticipates that MBDA may worry its younger rival could benefit from technical knowledge gained during development and testing. Hypersonica, meanwhile, is already gaining experience through Nightfall, a British-funded project to develop missiles for Ukraine. According to the briefing, some of that work could help the startup develop a more advanced German-British weapon. Another complication will be finding out what role France will play — if at all. When Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Emmanuel Macron met in July, they agreed to explore cooperation with Britain on long-range weapons, specifically highlighting that Arian