UK commits £400m (€460m) to hypersonic and stealth missiles

Defense Secretary John Healey unveils massive investment in joint European "Deep Strike" programs as NATO braces for "new era of rising threats".

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As the war in Ukraine continues to rewrite the rules of modern warfare, the British government has announced a massive funding surge for its next generation of long-range weaponry. On February 13, 2026, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) confirmed it will invest more than £400 million (€460 million) this financial year into high-speed and hypersonic missile programs.

The announcement, made ahead of the Munich Security Conference, signals a significant pivot toward European industrial cooperation, with the UK leading joint efforts alongside France, Germany, and Italy.

"Stratus": The stealth successor to Storm Shadow

The lion's share of the investment focuses on the Stratus program (formerly known as FC/ASW). This joint project with France and Italy aims to replace the aging Storm Shadow and Harpoon missiles currently in service.

Stratus is developing two distinct missile variants: a low-observable stealth version for "penetrating" deep-strike missions and a high-speed supersonic version designed for maritime warfare and suppressing enemy air defenses.

These missiles are designed to neutralize high-value land targets and destroy enemy warships with a "step change" in survivability compared to 20th-century systems.

Economic impact

The project is already sustaining over 1,300 high-skilled jobs across the UK, primarily at MBDA sites in Stevenage and Bolton.

The "Deep Precision Strike" with Germany

In a historic shift toward Anglo-German cooperation, the UK also announced a new joint study phase for a weapon system dubbed "Deep Precision Strike." This missile is projected to have a range exceeding 2,000 km, far outstripping current European capabilities.

The program aims to deliver a hypersonic capability (flying at speeds greater than Mach 5) by the 2030s to ensure NATO can evade increasingly sophisticated Russian interceptors.

This project is the first major fruit of the landmark Trinity House Agreement signed between London and Berlin in 2024.

Lessons from the Ukrainian front

Defence Secretary John Healey explicitly linked the investment to the "decisive impact" of long-range precision weapons seen in Ukraine.

"To meet this new era of rising threats, we need hard power, strong alliances, and sure diplomacy," Healey stated. "The UK is stepping up... delivering the cutting-edge weapons that will keep the UK and NATO safe and boost deterrence."

The timing of the announcement is particularly poignant; just days prior, UK Defence Intelligence confirmed that Russia had launched a "multi-axis" strike against Ukraine involving over 60 ballistic and cruise missiles and 450 attack drones.

The road to 2.6% GDP

The £400 million investment is part of the government’s broader commitment to hitting 2.6% of GDP in defense spending by 2027. While critics have questioned whether the funding is truly "new money" or reallocated from previous budgets, the focus on hypersonics marks a clear strategic shift toward "counter-speed" technologies.