LONDON (AP) — German submarine-hunting planes will patrol the North Atlantic Ocean from a base in Scotland under a new defense treaty between Britain and Germany in response to the growing threat from Russia, officials said .
Defense ministers from Britain and Germany will sign the agreement in London on Wednesday in what officials call the first such defense pact between the two countries to boost European security amid rising Russian aggression.
“Great Britain and Germany are coming closer together. With projects in the air, land, sea and cyber domains, we will jointly increase our defense capabilities and thus strengthen the European pillar within NATO,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement ahead of the signing of the deal.
“For me it is particularly important that we work even closer together to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank and close critical capability gaps, for example in the field of long-range weapons,” he added.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Under the deal, German submarine hunters will operate “periodically” from a Scottish military base to patrol the North Atlantic. The allies will work more closely together to protect vital underwater cables in the North Sea.
The two countries say they will also work together to prioritize the development of long-range weapons that can travel further than Britain’s existing Storm Shadow missiles. German defense giant Rheinmetall is also expected to open a factory producing artillery gun barrels using British steel.
Officials say the pact means British and German forces committed to NATO in Estonia and Lithuania will train and operate more closely, leaving “land forces on NATO’s eastern flank a strong deterrent and prepared to fight and win when necessary.”
Britain and Germany are also expected to work together to develop new land and air drones.
