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So for the past months, I had the opportunity to think and write with the brilliant @SophiaGBecker & @Ce_Moll
on the potential of intensified UK-German defence cooperation. We all know Lancaster House & the close Franco-German ties, but what about this third axis? THREAD [1/16]
on the potential of intensified UK-German defence cooperation. We all know Lancaster House & the close Franco-German ties, but what about this third axis? THREAD [1/16]
First things first: Big thanks to @hsf_uk for enabling this work, to @policyatkings for publishing the results & especially to @armida_lm for managing the whole thing brilliantly! [2/16]
What follows is a short thread on key points from the first of three papers, this one on capability cooperation. You can find it here: https://bit.ly/2GV60tw [3/16]
So far, military capability cooperation between the UK & Germany was largely driven by industrial and technological necessity (think A400M, Eurofighter) or chance - e.g. through equipment commonality (think Boxer) or Cold War ties (think wide wet gap crossing units). [4/16]
However, both countries can do better! (Surprise, I know) We argue that looking at capability gaps of both countries (each has some, next surprise!) and those of the European NATO as a whole can serve as a more solid basis for future, more strategic cooperation. [5/16]
Once you cross-reference those capability gaps with the diverging cooperation & procurement patterns of both countries, some interesting and realistic cooperation opportunities emerge of which we clustered the most 9 relevant into three groups, 'cause 3x3 just sounds good! [6/16]
Easy but effective (always the best, right?): 1) Both should look into cooperation on ground-based medium-to-long range strike capabilities. Important for both territorial defence (outranged by Russian systems) and expeditionary, plus common equipment to build upon (MLRS). [7/16]
2) Air and missile defence. The expanding spectrum of air-based threats requires some answer, both for low-end-short-range air defence - Nagorno-Karabakh, am I right? - as well as for the high-end spectrum against cruise and ballistic missiles. High-cost, valuable cap! [8/16]
3) German participation in the UK's complex weapon program. You want advanced weapons and increase European "autonomy" (please don't take this one literally and lets discuss it somewhen else) - than this is for you. Consolidated European industrial caps + critial mil cap! [9/16]
Okay, I will skip the symbolic cooperation opportunities (for those wanderers that are lost by now - you can find the whole report here https://bit.ly/2GV60tw ). [10/16]
Game-changers! (I too hate the term, but stick with me/us here) 1) Bi/Multinational airborne ISR/ELINT/SIGINT/EW fleets. Both the UK & Germany hold significant capabilities here - and Europe as a whole could use more of them for sure. NATO's AGS is a nice paragon here! [11/16]
2) FCAS and Tempest merger. I know, I know - this one is toxic. But that's why we listed it as a game changer - it would both save a lot of money and would probably require some pan-European capability/industry/political coordination and cooperation not seen for some time [12/16]
3) Joint MPA fleet. Maritime Patrol & Anti-Submarine Warfare are becoming more important if your competitor is a state with plenty of boats and experience while NATO's caps atrophied. NOR and the UK use P-8, maybe GER could lease some until the FR-DE MPA is available? [13/16]
There are more opportunities in there, but let me just highlight the wide wet gap crossing cap, as this one is important & rare in NATO! Whoever wants to reenforce NATO's eastern flank with armoured forces needs it- bridges don't go well with proliferated precision strike [14/16]
![There are more opportunities in there, but let me just highlight the wide wet gap crossing cap, as this one is important & rare in NATO! Whoever wants to reenforce NATO's eastern flank with armoured forces needs it- bridges don't go well with proliferated precision strike [14/16]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EmjvvFeXcAE-eiU.jpg "There are more opportunities in there, but let me just highlight the wide wet gap crossing cap, as this one is important & rare in NATO! Whoever wants to reenforce NATO's eastern flank with armoured forces needs it- bridges don't go well with proliferated precision strike [14/16]")
Why so many capital-intensive and expensive capabilities? Because it is the large countries that provide these critical enablers - and what better way for the UK and Germany to lead their European NATO partners than to provide what others typically don't field? [15/16]
![Why so many capital-intensive and expensive capabilities? Because it is the large countries that provide these critical enablers - and what better way for the UK and Germany to lead their European NATO partners than to provide what others typically don't field? [15/16]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EmjvTDSXEAE69aL.png "Why so many capital-intensive and expensive capabilities? Because it is the large countries that provide these critical enablers - and what better way for the UK and Germany to lead their European NATO partners than to provide what others typically don't field? [15/16]")
Good news is this long thread (congrats for making it down here!) only marks the start! Our next two papers will cover UK-German cooperation in military innovation and the defence industry. So stay tuned and watch this space! [16/16]
