Plans for a new 2,000km-range strike weapon being developed jointly by the UK and Germany remain at the early conceptual stage, with key decisions on design and delivery platforms yet to be made, according to answers provided by the Ministry of Defence on 22 May 2025.
Responding to written parliamentary questions from James Cartlidge MP, Minister of State Maria Eagle confirmed that the weapon’s specific characteristics—such as whether it will be a cruise missile, ballistic missile, or hypersonic weapon—are still under consideration.
“UK and Germany are considering several concepts and technologies to address emerging threats and have defined a joint range requirement of over 2,000 km,” she said. “Specific characteristics, in-service dates and launch platforms are to be confirmed.”
The questions follow a Ministry of Defence news update earlier this month announcing the launch of the joint development under the Trinity House Agreement, the UK-Germany bilateral defence cooperation framework signed in October 2024.
The 2,000km “deep precision strike” system is intended to enhance NATO’s long-range deterrence capability and is billed as one of the most advanced munitions ever designed by the UK. It is expected to be compatible with future force structures and support both air and naval integration.
Asked whether the missile would require a bespoke launch vehicle, the Minister reiterated that no final decisions had been made on platforms, indicating that further assessment and design work is ongoing.
The announcement of the joint programme came during the inaugural Trinity House Defence Ministerial Council in Berlin on 15 May 2025, where UK Defence Secretary John Healey and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius discussed deepening defence collaboration across Europe.
The project is also expected to generate skilled defence sector jobs and contribute to strengthening industrial bases in both countries, while reinforcing NATO’s ability to counter emerging strategic threats.
We’ll have so many conceptual missiles soon that we won’t know which to buy.
I’m noting now this weapon is being described as having a range of over 2000km. Around 2500km puts much of European Russia at risk from the UK.
Pretty much the only part of Russia worth hitting (apart from their ballistic missile silos) so Putin will be sh..ing himself his gold plated Dachas will be at risk.
If the range is indeed 2500km and not the quoted 2000km, then you get to Moscow, just.
Can’t but help thinking and agreeing with @DM et al, that this a vehicle launched missile.
All the Baltic and Murmansk region bases are reachable from UK with 2000 km.
If air or sea launched then most of north west European Russia is reachable from North Sea…or from Germany land based
It’s going to be a land ( vehicle) launched system judging by the intended range of the missile. We already have air/sea/sub surface missiles, so, unless we are going to scrap some of our future projects then this is in all probability a land based missile.
BAOR is long gone, very unlikely we will be basing any in Germany.
Germany is part of NATO and part of Project…hence the comment about Germany.
Current projects have been in development for past 15-20 years. This one is just starting.
ASRAAM/ CAMM is a great example of taling a core design for one environment and adapting it to two other’s. Brimstone is another.
UK has to get smarter at spreading development costs and achieving economies of scale.
Currently, for Submarines, we have torpedo tube-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles (which have a reduced range compared to air or surface-launched variants).
For the surface fleet, we have Naval Strike Missiles, but these are relatively short-ranged, somewhere in the 200-400km range.
The Fleet Air Arm basically has nothing atm, but will soon have the SPEAR 3 with range of 140+km, but it’s a very small missile, with a tiny warhead. Unfortunately, just about all cruise or anti-ship missiles designed for the F-35 don’t fit in the F-35B… Facepalm.
The army only has GMLRS rocket artillery missiles with a range of ~80km, but could potentially purchase the 500km PrSM missile in the near future.
The RAF has the Storm Shadow with a range of 550+km.
FC/ASW will likely replace Storm Shadow and NSM (at least on the larger ships), and is likely to be 2 entirely different missiles, a stealth sub-sonic cruise missile with a decently long range (e.g. >1,500km) to replace Storm Shadow, and a ramjet-powered missile with a much shorter range (e.g. 500-750km) and is likely to be the primary surface-to-surface and air-to-surface anti-ship missile. The cruise missile will likely be for land attack, but being slow, puts limitations on its use. These, at least the cruise missile one, is targeted for entering service around 2030.
We don’t actually know what this new Anglo-German missile is yet. I would doubt it was another sub-sonic cruise missile, which suggests it’s either a tactical ballistic missile (which the UK nor Germany currently has) or a manoeuvring hypersonic cruise or glide missile (as we don’t have one either). These could either be ground or ship-launched, but if they’re targeting a >2,000km range, that indicates a very large weapon, so unlikely to be air-launched (since we don’t have launch platforms as large as the MiG-31 over here, which is needed if you intend to strap a >4 tonne missile to it.
TLDR, no, I don’t see it as necessarily competing with anything we have in the works, since we have only a few limited projects atm, and will, before too long, need to replace our current missiles, starting a project NOW is pretty sensible, though TBH, I think we should open the project up to Ukraine to join too.
Simple, they’ll buy none of them.
Always assumed a vehicle. If it is that accurate it may be a high priority target for Russia so dispersal like GLCM an option?
Germany with ballistic missiles?
I’m not sure that’s going to fly . . . with the German public.
Just hope someone remembers to insert a clause that the Uk can use and sell the system without German authorisation….
If they don’t mess it up!
Then we will have an excellent air and naval weapon
But we need them in big numbers
As usual, it will come down to how much £££
This is all conceptual. Bets on the to be announced ISD and the achieved ISD.
2035 ISD actually ISD 2040
ISD 2036 ACTUALLY 2050. based on Spear 3 performance
2060 at the earliest.
A medium ( or intermediate ) range ballistic missile ? developing a conventional one of those from scratch will be insanely expensive.
The only reason you could want that is if you looking a your domestic nuclear weapons program… and strategic deterrence.
As for air and sea launched again why would you have a conventional sea and air launched medium range ballistic missile ? an insanely expensive weapon system and I don’t believe anyone has those..
Especially as the UK is already developing a perfectly good long range sea and air launched ground attack missile with France..
Also what platforms would it fit on ? A 2000km range ballistic missile is looking at 11meters long and 10,000+ pounds your needing a strategy bomber or a ballistic missile submarine..
Something tells me this may be a bit of confused programming that has a goal people are not sure they want to be honest about.. German and the UK developing a joint strategic deterrence..
Not saying I’m against it, but if that is the case why not a joint UK France and Germany programme… maybe France has in the background pissed of the Germans by always wanting to be incharge of weapons programmes 🤔
After all there are a lot of joint german and other nations programmes developing without France…
A German Italian MBT ( while Germany is also developing a franco German tank)
A UK German long range potentially strategic weapon
A UK German 155mm gun system
A UK German APC
A UK Italian ( Japanese ) 6th generation fighter
A UK polish air defence system
France seems to be being cut out of a lot of programmes… mainly by the Germans 😳
Domestic nuclear weapons isn’t the ONLY reason you might want a ballistic (or hypersonic) missile…
Either for striking high-value, heavily defended ground targets, especially at short notice (e.g. command bunkers or SAM batteries), or to target ships is a prime use case for such a weapon. Indeed, many countries are working on them atm for that purpose.
It’s all very well having a stealthy high-subsonic cruise missile, but shooting at a target >2,000km away could be about 2hrs flight time. You might not have that long a window to engage a target, so one that could hit a target in 20mins would be very valuable to have in your inventory. That’s not to say it would replace a cruise missile, but to supplement it. Currenlty both the UK and Germany have a single “long”-range missile system each they can use over continental Europe (Storm Shadow and Taurus), other than sea-launched missiles. Germany certainly, seems to be regretting this and is likely a large part of why they are so reluctant to give Taurus to Ukraine.
As for France? Who haven’t they pissed off in joint procurement projects because they have a severe case of main-character syndrome so can’t cooperate in a fair and equal way. I rather suspect the Germans are currently regretting partnering with the French on their next fighter aircraft.
Hi Jim..yes there are other reasons to have them.l but no one has ever developed a medium to intermediate range ballistic missile without having a nuclear programme and a space programme.. because a medium/intermediate range ballistic missiles are essentially a multi stage sub orbital boosters linked to a separate an atmospheric reentry vehicle.. and that is essentially an insanity expensive programme to develop..even before you build one…
There is a profound difference between the uni bodied short range ballistic missile and something that can fire 2000+ KM they are totally different beasts.. where as a cruise missile is a cruise missile no matter the range.
@ Jonathan ALBM “Golden Horizon” (Israel) L- 8 m. 6800- 7000 pounds, 2000 km. “5M”+, СЕР: 4 -5 m. (EO) F-15I or C-130… Regards.
your talking about silver sparrow
Length 8.39 meters, 7000lbs weight, range is considered up to 2000km, but probably something between that and blue sparrows 1000km range most estimate it’s likely 1500km, but very importantly it has never been seen on an F15 or evidenced that it’s been tested from an f15.. just a C130. It’s also essentially a drone missile target
Golden Horizon is a secret name for something within the sparrow family and could refer to a strike version of blue sparrow ( which has been seen on f15) or a strike version of silver sparrow which is entirely mysterious and never ever been seen.
While the prior and new ALBM are similar, they are not identical. It’s all blank… Regards.
Excellent development, can’t wait to work with the Germans on the next lunar landing.
“Fly me to the Moon”.
No way UK will pay for this when it becomes apparent the cost. Why do we waste millions on so many concepts?? Just buy some damned hardware and employ more service personel.
Because its all about money going into industry, not actual hardware entering service.
If we bought hardware it could be both
Brilliant! This sort of partnership with Germany is exactly what we need. They now have the dosh ( debt brake) and we have the nuclear knowhow!