Defence Ministerial Council: Joint Statement

Below is the Joint Statement issued by the Defence Ministers of Germany, Boris Pistorius, and the United Kingdom, Wes Streeting, following the Defence Ministerial Council held on 2 November 2026 in Berlin.

Today we held the second Defence Ministerial Council under the Trinity House Agreement. Two years after signing the Agreement, our governments have made significant progress in strengthening defence cooperation between the United Kingdom and Germany.

The security of the United Kingdom and Germany is inseparable from the security of Europe. We share a responsibility to strengthen the European contribution to NATO, reinforce deterrence and ensure Europe is increasingly able to provide the capabilities and forces necessary for our collective defence. The Trinity House Agreement, reinforced by the Kensington Treaty, provides the framework for us to do this together.

Today, we reaffirmed our unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal invasion. As co-chairs of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG), the United Kingdom and Germany will continue working with Ukraine and our international partners to ensure its Armed Forces receive the support they need. We agreed on the importance of continuing to develop the UDCG, strengthening the link between Ukraine’s requirements and partners’ capabilities. Beyond this, we remain committed to supporting Ukraine in securing a just and lasting peace, underpinned by robust and credible security guarantees. As members of the Coalition of the Willing, we will continue to develop these guarantees for implementation after the cessation of hostilities and when conditions are right.

We noted the significant progress in our landmark project to develop Deep Precision Strike (DPS) capabilities, with ranges over 2,000 km, to be delivered within the decade, supporting jobs across the supply chain for UK and German industry.

Our Armed Forces are also continuing to deepen cooperation. On Land, we are developing our strategic partnership to strengthen readiness and interoperability and explore cooperation on future capabilities and uncrewed systems. In the maritime domain, we are advancing cooperation on the procurement of Sting Ray with an Implementing Arrangement signed between our National Armaments Directors today. We previously agreed that German P-8A Poseidon aircraft would fly from the UK on an episodic basis. This year, that commitment was realised for the first time, with RAF Lossiemouth supporting German Navy P-8s on Exercise Dynamic Mongoose in May, and more recently on Exercise Strike Warrior, which concluded early last month. Through these activities we are strengthening our cooperation in the North Atlantic and North Sea. Our Air Forces will continue to develop their cooperation through the bilateral Flight Plan, including on future uncrewed and collaborative combat capabilities.

We also agreed that our partnership must continue to evolve. Recognising the speed of development in this domain, we will expand the Trinity House Agreement's Cyber Lighthouse Project to incorporate Artificial Intelligence. Through collaboration on a small number of shared military use cases, we will deepen bilateral cooperation in capability development, experimentation and adoption.

Last month, the Federal Chancellor, and Prime Minister set their joint ambition for the UK and Germany to deepen strategic cooperation in Space. Today, our Ministries of Defence will start work to deliver our part of this ambition. Building on a strong foundation of defence space cooperation, we intend to deepen our strategic defence space relationship. We will use both bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to explore collaboration opportunities across satellite communications, earth observation and data exploitation, to space domain awareness and capability requirements.

When we signed Trinity House in October 2024, we committed to a step change in UK German defence cooperation. Two years on, our Armed Forces, capability teams and industries are working together across an increasingly broad agenda. We have directed our teams to maintain this momentum through 2027, with a continued focus on delivery and tangible outcomes. Together, the United Kingdom and Germany will continue to support Ukraine, deepen our partnership, and keep our continent safe by building a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO.

FEDERAL MINISTER OF DEFENCE, BORIS PISTORIUS MdB
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE, THE RT HON WES STREETING MP