Monday, December 9, 2024

German-British combat drone: a future link between SCAF and GCAP, or a way out for Berlin?

The UK and Germany have a long tradition of defence cooperation. Both have a strong NATO voice in favour of cooperation with the US and share a common appetite for defence equipment and programmes from across the Atlantic.

Above all, the two countries have co-developed two of the most important military aeronautical programmes of the last 50 years in Europe, the Panavia Tornado, in the 70s and 80s, and the Eurofighter. Typhoon, since the 90s, each time, with the support of Rome.

However, the two countries had never signed an extensive defence cooperation agreement, such as the late Lancaster House agreements between Paris and London in 2010.

This is now the case, with Germany and Great Britain having signed an ambitious defense cooperation program this week, called the Trinity House agreements. And while these agreements cover many aspects, one of them is of particular interest to France. Indeed, London and Berlin have announced their intention to develop a combat drone to accompany their fighter jets, together…

London and Berlin sign Trinity House agreements for extensive defence cooperation

The Trinity House agreements aim to restore a framework for defence cooperation between the two countries, following Great Britain's exit from the European Union in 2020.

Chords by TRinity house healey Pistorius
Defense Secretary Healey and German Defense Minister Pistorius

This covers many aspects, ranging from strengthening NATO's northern front to developing long-range weapons. It is based, in particular, on the commitment of the industrialist Rheinmetall to invest, in the coming years, more than €300 million in British sites for the construction of armoured equipment and artillery, which have made the history of European armoured vehicles with brands such as Vickers, under the control of the German industrialist since 2019.

The agreement, signed by British Defence Secretary John Healey and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, also provides for Britain to be included in the initiative launched by Berlin, Paris and Warsaw to develop a long-range European strike capability by 2035.

Cooperation in the field of monitoring submarine cables is also mentioned in the agreement, while the Bundeswehr and the British Army will develop joint exercises, especially involving units deployed in the Baltic countries, to design new combat doctrines and tactics.

Germans and British want to co-develop a combat drone together, and with their partners

Among all the subjects mentioned in the agreement, and they are numerous (but very poorly supported), one point attracts particular attention, especially on the French side. Indeed, London and Berlin have announced, somewhat laconically, it is true, their intention to co-develop and implement a combat drone, intended to evolve in cooperation with the combat aircraft of the two countries.

Loyal Wingmen Airbus DS combat drone
Airbus DS will present a 1:1 model of its new Loyal Wingmen at the ILA 2024 show in Berlin

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6 Comments

    • From my point of view, cooperation can work, whether or not it is European, as long as it does not affect strategic security and/or industrial issues. We can perfectly well make a training and attack aircraft, an VCI, an SPH or a transport helicopter in cooperation. What we cannot do is a combat aircraft, a nuclear submarine, an aircraft carrier, a combat tank or a ballistic missile, air-to-air or anti-ship, except with specific partners with a weak overlap of the bitd. We must work on these subjects like the USA.

  1. The creation of the club Rafale announced the bifurcation of French cooperation in the design and production of combat aircraft and air systems. French interests are contradictory to any "European" project imbedded in NATO logic.
    The Typhoon Boys have understood this well. They are giving up on plundering French know-how.

    They will finish behind, in technique and in price as usual.

  2. Let's be serious, there is no Europe and there never will be one apart from the euro.
    Too many national interests are at stake and Germany, as always, wants to be the only European pillar while trading only with the EU.Deutchland uber….

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