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The UK is set to lead a multi-billion-pound European drive to build the next generation of long-range missiles during Wednesday’s Nato summit in Turkey. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to unveil a $50 billion (£37 billion) commitment alongside a dozen European allies to build weapons capable of hitting targets up to 2,000km away with pinpoint accuracy. The announcement comes as Starmer prepares for a meeting of Nato’s North Atlantic Council in Ankara on Wednesday likely to be dominated by questions about defence spending and America’s commitment to the alliance. So-called ‘deep precision strike’ missiles, including the British-made Storm Shadow, have proved crucial in the Ukraine war, allowing Ukrainian forces to hit targets far beyond the front line. The European commitment brings together several projects, including a joint UK-German effort to develop hypersonic long-range missiles and work with Italy and France on the Stratus missile. Baltic nations are also expected to take part. Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said: ‘We are building the weapons of the future to keep the UK and Nato secure for decades to come, backed by billions of pounds and working with our closest European allies. ‘Our new suite of deep precision strike weapons will give our forces the ability to strike targets hundreds of kilometres away with great accuracy strengthening Nato and deterring our adversaries.’ Last week’s Defence Investment Plan saw the government commit to spending £3 billion on deep precision strike weapons by 2030. Wednesday’s announcement does not involve all the nations involved working on a single weapon, but officials said the move would prevent duplication among allies, with nations working on different types of missiles. Its emphasis on European action also comes amid growing concern on the continent about US commitment to Nato under Donald Trump, who has continued to complain about perceived ‘freeloading’ on US defence spending and has withdrawn some American troops from Europe. Starmer said the UK was already working with allies to develop high-end missiles, but added Wednesday’s commitment would ‘allow us to step up our co-operation, bringing European allies together to ensure Nato remains safe and secure for years to come’. Separately, the Ministry of Defence announced on Tuesday that the UK would join the US-Australian Precision Strike Missile programme, providing the Army with a weapon capable of hitting targets up to 500km away. Backed by £190 million of funding from the Defence Investment Plan, the UK is expected to receive the first deliveries of the missiles as early as next year. The announcement followed a meeting between Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis and his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, at the Nato summit in the Turkish capital. The Ankara summit is expected to see moves towards a more ‘European’ Nato, including plans for greater defence spending by allies on the continent. Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has called for allies to attend the summit with ‘credible’ plans to meet the alliance’s target of spending 5% of GDP on defence by 2035. The target, agreed at last year’s Nato summit in The Hague under pressure from Trump, includes spending 3.5% of GDP on ‘core defence’ and another 1.5% on resilience and infrastructure. But Starmer has been accused of arriving at the summit ‘empty-handed’ after the Defence Investment Plan failed to set out a clear path to reaching that target. Ministers insist that further details will be set out at the next spending review, by which time Starmer will have been replaced in No 10, most likely by Andy Burnham. Ahead of Wednesday’s North Atlantic Council meeting, Trump has also reopened the question of his support for the alliance over its opposition to his demand to annex Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Nato member Denmark. Responding to questions on Tuesday, Trump said the dispute over Greenland had ‘hurt my relationship with Denmark’ as he reiterated his belief that the island ‘should be controlled by the US’. UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves again rejected his claims about Greenland, telling reporters the island’s future was ‘up to the people of Greenland and of Denmark, and not up to the US president’. Trump once again threatens to overshadow a Nato summit, but Sharon Hudson-Dean of the Chatham House think tank suggested Ankara could present an opportunity to build a European security arrangement that ‘better meets today’s threats and is less dependent on American assets’. She said: ‘As the US pulls back from Nato, leaving unhappy European publics in its wake, there is an important opening for key Europeans to begin filling the American leadership gap as they did when forming the ’coalition of the willing’ in 2025 to support Ukraine. ‘Past trailblazers have led the continent to a point of greater European co-operation than ever before now is the moment for a new generation to take the next step.’ While the main part of the summit takes place on Wednesday, Starmer spent Tuesday meeting fellow world leaders in what is likely to be his last major international engagement as prime minister. After discussing support for Ukraine and a Middle East ceasefire with Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Store, Starmer and his counterpart donned football shirts and exchanged banter ahead of their countries’ World Cup quarter-final clash on Saturday. And in the British ambassador’s residence in Ankara, Starmer and his Dutch counterpart Rob Jettens signed a maritime partnership that will see the UK and the Netherlands co-operate on building amphibious transport ships. Confirmed in the Defence Investment Plan, the agreement will see each country operate four of the ships, carrying troops, vehicles and equipment including long-range drones. After Wednesday’s main summit meeting, Starmer is also expected to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to sign a defence co-operation agreement between the UK and Turkey. By Christopher McKeon, Press Association Political Correspondent in Ankara source: PA Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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