Germany and the UK Develop Long-Range Strike System

At a meeting held in Berlin this Thursday on May 15, Germany's and the UK's defense ministers "agreed to start cooperating on the development of a new European deep precision strike capability with a range exceeding 2,000 kilometers." This is the first concrete step taken under the recent defense agreement between Berlin and London to address the Russian challenge.

Germany and the UK will jointly develop a long-range strike weapon system with a range exceeding 2,000 kilometers. This range significantly exceeds that of the "Storm Shadow" cruise missile jointly developed by France and the UK. The project has no specific timeline and is part of an agreement signed in October 2024, which is the first such agreement between the two countries.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that this is part of the "European Long-Range Strike Solution" [ELSA] (ELSA) plan. The "ELSA" plan was initiated by France, Germany, Italy, and Poland, aiming to develop and produce long-range strike weapons in the context of increasingly tense relations with Russia.

Strengthening NATO's Eastern Flank Defense

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized that this "facilitates other partners joining our initiative and creating synergies." The goal is to strengthen NATO's eastern flank defense, with the two militaries conducting joint training more frequently to enhance the eastern flank of NATO. The agreement stipulates that Germany's P8 aircraft (maritime patrol aircraft specialized for anti-submarine warfare) will take off from Scottish bases to contribute to the defense of the North Atlantic. For this purpose, Germany "will purchase the UK's Stingray torpedoes."

A joint statement noted that German crews have already used the UK's P-8A patrol aircraft "to support NATO's Baltic Sea Sentinel operation" twice. It was also specifically mentioned that the UK's P-8A patrol aircraft will soon use German naval air bases during layovers.

Since the outbreak of the war in February 2022, London and Berlin have been the two main European countries providing military assistance to Kyiv. The UK has especially provided Ukraine with long-range missiles, while former German Chancellor Scholz refused to do so at the time. His successor, Melzer, expressed willingness to accept this possibility but under certain conditions.

The newly appointed German Chancellor Melzer promised to provide the Ministry of Defense with the necessary funds to achieve this goal, building the most powerful conventional army in Europe. As European countries continue to increase their defense budgets in response to Russia's aggression threat, Berlin aims to further promote this trend to prevent any future attacks. Melzer stated in his first speech to the Federal Parliament: "Strength can deter aggression, while weakness invites it."

Currently, German troops are stationed near the Lithuanian border with Russia. In Europe, Germany ranks third in military strength, after Italy in second place and France in first place. Under the circumstances where the U.S. threatens to cut its financial contributions to NATO, Berlin's statement may be welcomed by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Melzer emphasized that Germany's support for Ukraine will remain "strong," but clearly stated that no German troops will be deployed on Ukrainian territory.

Source: rfi

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832279780078791/

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