Downing Street unveils £37bn NATO missile programme at Ankara summit

Deep Precision Strike missile targets 200-mile range as summit opens

The Deep Precision Strike programme, unveiled by Downing Street ahead of Wednesday’s summit, is expected to cost more than £37bn ($50bn) over the next 10 years, shared among 12 participating countries. The UK government said the missile would be among the alliance’s most advanced weapons and would enable forces to strike high-value military targets deep behind enemy lines.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, speaking to BBC Breakfast from Ankara, described the initiative as “part of a recognition that we’re in a more dangerous world.” She said the project was “about how we make sure we have a stronger Europe within a stronger Nato.” Cooper added that the capability would allow the UK and its allies to “hit high value military targets and the logistical engines that drive armies, deterring any aggressor and strengthening our mutual security.”

However, like many planned military projects, Deep Precision Strike is not expected to be operational until the 2030s.

Sir Keir Starmer, attending his final NATO summit as prime minister, said he was “determined” to ensure the safety of the UK and its allies. “We must step up to deliver a stronger, more European Nato,” he said. The UK government has already committed £300bn to defence by 2030 through its Defence Investment Plan.

Starmer is likely to face criticism from US President Donald Trump over the UK’s failure to set out a plan for reaching 3.5% of GDP spent on defence by 2035, a target agreed by nearly all NATO members last year. Trump has repeatedly called for allies to increase defence spending, and at last year’s summit members agreed to spend 5% of GDP on defence and security by 2035. The US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, announced in June a six-month review of the presence of US forces in Europe.

The prime minister is expected to underline the threat posed by Russia, noting that NATO had scrambled fighter jets to intercept Russian aircraft approaching allied airspace more than 700 times, and that Russian military activity around UK waters had surged 30%.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used a speech at the summit on Tuesday to urge allies to deliver urgently needed air defence systems to protect Ukraine from escalating Russian attacks. A Downing Street statement said Ukraine’s long-range drone and missile strikes had “significantly impacted Russia’s ability to sustain their offensives,” noting that Ukrainian forces had “proved that the effective use of long-range systems can have game-changing impacts on the battlefield.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, would closely monitor the summit. He said that no new weapons Kyiv would receive from NATO could prevent Russia from continuing its military operation until its objectives were achieved. “To our regret, these were not statements about constructive engagement and dialogue but rather statements of a confrontational nature,” Peskov told reporters, referring to the statements made in the run-up to the summit. He added that a “settlement of this conflict through political and diplomatic means remains preferable” for Russia.