- The Nato Summit in Ankara saw 12 allies commit $50bn to accelerate existing deep strike projects
- Ukraine’s strike campaign inside Russia leverages homegrown cruise missiles, such as the FP-5 Flamingo
- The UK will lead the new initative since the country already serves as a participant in numerous deep strike partnerships
The ability to disrupt an adversary’s centre of gravity – significant enablers and assets beyond the reach of frontline combat – is not new, and Nato allies are realising that this is a capability gap across the continent.
Historically, artillery barrages have played a supporting role, preceding a ground assault or coordinated with airpower, but the concept has taken on a distinct role in contemporary conflict, targeting strategic resources often with precision.
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Note the effects of Ukraine’s strike campaign inside Russian territory, which can exceed 2,000 kilometres, not only causing an uplift in morale but depriving the Russian war machine of infrastructure. Ukraine’s Government claims ~25% of Russia’s oil refining capacity has been affected.
Accordingly, 12 Nato allies agreed to invest $50bn over the next ten years on long-range strike weapons, also known as “deep strike,” during the Ankara Summit earlier this week. The pledge sends a strong signal to Russia that European Nato is pursuing the right balance of defensive and offensive capabilities.
But what does this initiative aim to do precisely? The group will provide the funds to accelerate the building, testing, and deployment of existing deep strike projects.
ELSA
There is already a multinational effort underway that is exploring common requirements, industry alignment and settling on the “appropriate” number of combined units according to a common delivery roadmap.
France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the UK formed the European Long-Range Strike Approach (ELSA) two years ago.
Several clusters, split according to distinct areas of focus, such as early warning or suppression of enemy air defence, have reached a level of maturity. In a communique last month, the participants announced that these clusters will become “standalone” ELSA Implementation Groups.
Thus, ELSA is not a single missile project. Instead, the group is tasked with ensuring European alignment in the emerging sector.
Now that ELSA is moving toward a more practical framework beyond political intent, some observers rightly argue that the utility of ELSA will be in “linking it to Nato’s Defence Planning Process, connecting it to EU industrial instruments, and integrating it with European [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] efforts.”
PrSM
Although it is made in America by US defence prime Lockheed Martin, the UK agreed to procure the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) alongside Australia under the trilateral AUKUS pact.
Notably, Britain’s M270A2 launcher complements the missile.
Launched from the ground, PrSM is a ballistic missile with a range between 60 and 500km. US Central Command has already confirmed its use of the deep precision strike weapon against Iranian targets earlier this year, describing its effect as “unparalleled”.
Despite such feedback, the UK is the only European country to buy the system. This is not surprising since the continent are inclined toward industrial sovereignty. In fact, MBDA told this reporter last month that the complex weapons specialist aims to wean Europe off American weapons like the Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile (TLACM) with its own alternative cruise missile.
Stratus
Stratus – formerly the Future Cruise / Anti-Ship Weapon – is a sub-sonic cruise missile that can reach 1,000km and is intended to operate into the 2060s.
The Anglo-French project began development in 2017 until Italy expressed interest to joining the programme.
The Stratus programme encompasses two distinct missiles designed to replace legacy systems like the Storm Shadow/SCALP and Exocet by the early 2030s:
- Rapid Strike (RS): high-speed, supersonic focused on rapid strike and manoeuvrability
- Low Observable (OS): subsonic stealth missile
Although both missile types can be air- or sea-launched, MBDA revealed that it is mapping a route to deliver a ground-launched variant.
At the end of June, the UK released its Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which detailed a pledge to spend £1.4bn ($1.87bn) on the Stratus missile for Typhoon aircraft and new frigates. The commitment was one of the few clear details in the document.
Nightfall, Brakestop
Nightfall is a concept for a ground launched tactical ballistic missile which the UK Government requested industry to develop in August 2025 to fill a 600km deep strike capability gap for Ukraine.
The missile will not be delivered before late 2027 despite the government lauding its “rapid prototyping.”
Bizarrely, a senior Ministry of Defence official ruled out any plan to procure British-made Nightfall missiles for the UK’s own armed forces, but affirmed that it will “inform” the development of other UK deep strike missiles.
In tandem, the UK have exercised about project – Brakestop – to provide Ukraine’s forces with low cost, mass effect, ground-launched one-way effectors. The contractor must build 20 systems per month at a cost of £400,000 per unit. These uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) must reach a range of at least 600km.
The UK has already downselected three suppliers: MBDA’s “Crossbow”, MGI’s “Tigershark” and Rotron Aerospace’s “SkyLance.”
Anglo-German effort
Through the Trinity House Agreement, the UK and Germany are exploring a deep strike weapon that can travel more than 2,000km.
There has been little confirmed about this project since the concept is at such an early stage.
A comparable deep strike capability in existence today may be the TLACM (up to 2,500km) or Ukraine’s FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile, a sizable weapon that can reach up to 3,000km carrying a 1,150 kilogramme warhead.
Such a long range capability falls into German strategic interests since the United States has lately cancelled plans to send Berlin TLACMs and Standard Missile 6s to deter Russia. Instead, Washington has offered the Government the opportunity to purchase the weapons.
According to the UK’s recent DIP, the missile will form “part of a family of future stealth cruise and hypersonic weapons” expected to enter service in the 2030s. Initially focussed on ground-launched capabilities, the programme will also explore air and naval capabilities, delivering long range deterrence and operational flexibility.
LCM/NCM Mk II
During the Eurosatory 2026 exhibition in Paris, Europe’s foremost missile builder MBDA announced plans to advance France’s enduring Naval Cruise Missile (MdCN) – a 1,000km weapon that has been in service since 2017.
Bringing the capability to the land domain – referred to as the Land Cruise Missile (LCM) in its ground-launched variant – the company is upgrading the missile to mark II, which will allow the weapon to operate in GNSS-denied landscapes while developing its own launcher to accommodate the missile.
