Luke Pollard hosted the German State Secretary for Armament and Innovation at Lancaster House for talks covering Deep Precision Strike and wider defence industrial cooperation, with both countries reviewing joint capability programmes under the Trinity House Agreement, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Pollard, the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, met Jens Plötner on 15 October under the United Kingdom and Germany Ministerial Group on Equipment and Capability Cooperation. He described Germany as “one of our closest and most valued defence partners.”
Senior officials and military leaders from both countries attended, including Rupert Pearce, the National Armaments Director, and Vice Admiral Carsten Stawitzki, his German counterpart. A panel discussion at the German Embassy followed, with Philipp Kerth of Hypersonica and Katherine Williams of Rolls-Royce taking part alongside officials.
Deep Precision Strike is the joint effort to field a long-range strike capability with a reach beyond two thousand kilometres, committed to in the Trinity House Agreement signed in October 2024. That agreement covers air, land, maritime, cyber and space cooperation and now sits under the Kensington Treaty signed in July 2025.
The talks followed the Prime Minister’s visit to Berlin on 8 October, where the two countries agreed to deepen space cooperation and to establish a Counter-Hybrid Partnership aimed at grey zone threats.
Trinity House has produced more concrete activity than most bilateral defence agreements manage in two years. German P-8 Poseidon crews have operated from Lossiemouth, the two countries have worked together on uncrewed systems, and Rheinmetall has expanded its British footprint, with the barrel factory at Telford announced under the agreement.
Great news if it works. We need more European collaborations to spread the cost and reduce reliance on an increasingly fickle and unreliable ‘ally’.
What like the one where France and Germany are willing to make submarines for Argentina?
Indeed. It’s no surprise European countries are willing to sell to Argentina, if it wasn’t for our own perilous state of affairs we wouldn’t care less, wed just deploy 2 SSNs doen there and sink their entire fleet…oh wait, we haven’t even got 2 available SSNs to over match the Argies.
That’s the problem.
…or the French give the software/codes for ground-launched Exocets DURING the Falklands war.
UK needs to forge it’s own path.
I guess with working with the likes of the Germany it’s a good thing when its Equipment wise .Has it’s usually good . Never been to much of a fan working with European countries on military kit has to many arguments and delays on work share, dates price etc. If I remember rightly Germany held the In service date of the Euro Fighter , but of late seem to be on the right road on defence . Has for Trumps America who knows he may sell the F35 to the Russians 🙄
All good having all this to fire over the fence but what about a bit of extra focus on some more substantial GBAD for the UK for what might come back our way? They’re not going to knock beforehand.