UK and Germany ramp up cyber and military cooperation

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During a joint visit to RAF Lossiemouth last week, Defence Secretary John Healey and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius marked the first anniversary of the Agreement by ramping up cooperation on joint cyber security and defensive activity.

The visit highlights the growing cooperation between the UK and Germany in the air and on the sea, with the two defence ministers participating in an operational flight on one of the RAF’s Poseidon P-8A maritime patrol aircraft. The advanced P-8A can detect, identify, track and defend against hostile ships and submarines. 

The new fifth Trinity House Lighthouse project will allow the UK’s new Cyber and Specialist Operations Command (CSOC) and the German Cyber and Information Domain Service to work more closely than ever before – enabling them to share data, intelligence and operational tools securely with each other and NATO allies. This includes the development of a secure cloud network, a digital system that allows the sharing of information in real time while defending against cyber attacks. 

The UK and Germany are also stepping up their commitment to NATO, with closer collaboration to protect the alliance’s logistics and transport networks from cyber threats.

In the coming months, one of the Deutsche Marine’s P-8As will visit Lossiemouth for the first time ahead of future joint activity side-by-side with the RAF in the North Atlantic to help defend against Russian aggression.

Since the launch of the Trinity House Agreement last year, German companies have committed to invest £800 million in the UK defence industry over the next decade, creating 600 skilled jobs across locations including London, Telford, Swindon, and Plymouth – supporting the Government’s Plan for Change and making defence an engine for growth across the UK. 

This includes a new Rheinmetall factory in Telford, which will see the UK manufacture artillery gun barrels for the first time in a decade, using British steel produced by Sheffield Forgemasters and creating hundreds of jobs.

Three other German defence companies have announced plans to invest in the UK defence industry:

• Helsing: New maritime glider drone factory in Plymouth, backed by £350 million of investment in Artificial Intelligence.
• ARX Robotics: £45 million of investment, creating 90 high-skilled jobs at a new facility producing uncrewed systems.
• Stark: Opening a major drone manufacturing facility in Wiltshire, creating 100 jobs at their first site outside Germany.

Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, said: "A year on from the Trinity House Agreement, the UK and Germany are working closer than ever to keep our two countries and Europe safe.

"Together we’re strengthening NATO, boosting our cyber defences, and ensuring our Armed Forces can operate side by side with ease – from patrolling the skies over Scotland to hunting Russian subs in the North Atlantic.  

"This partnership is a cornerstone of European security, demonstrating unity and strength to our adversaries, and keeping us secure at home and strong abroad."

German crews have already twice joined UK P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft operating from RAF Lossiemouth as part of NATO’s Baltic Sentry missions, while the Defence Secretary reaffirmed plans for a joint purchase of advanced Sting Ray torpedoes, strengthening NATO’s underwater defence capabilities.  

Signed in October 2024, the Trinity House Agreement set out a vision for a deeper and more integrated UK–German defence partnership.  

The defence industries of both countries are already working more closely, turbocharging European defence manufacturing. Development of a new Deep Precision Strike weapon with a range of over 2,000 kilometres is rapidly progressing and new agreements will boost bridge-building equipment to support land operations.