Next generation UK-German defence capability collaboration

Developing and producing the next generation of defence capabilities will be key part of the future ability of European NATO countries to continue to deter Russia. Defence technology is advancing quickly while the Research and Development and production landscape in European is both smaller in scale and more fragmented than that in the US. The only way for European countries to maintain a technological and productive edge is to work together, but this is fraught with challenges. History is filled with a number of success stories of intra-European acquisition programmes, yet there are also a number of failures. As the two largest defence spenders in Europe and a long pattern of close cooperation in this area, the UK and Germany can not only work together on shared requirements but also bring in other allies behind them. A number of capability areas stand out as ripe for potential deeper cooperation, such as precision deep strike, anti-submarine warfare, and armoured mobility. However, despite the intent of the Trinity House agreements progress has been slow and complicated by exclusionary European Union initiatives which has proven difficult for the UK to sign on to. This session will explore concrete capability areas where the two countries should work together and identify which regulatory barriers remain.