4 EU to Develop Long-Range Cruise Missiles

France, Germany, Italy, and Poland have signed a letter of intent to develop ground-launched cruise missiles with a range exceeding 500 kilometers.

This initiative aims to address gaps in European arsenals exposed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The announcement comes a day after the US and Germany declared plans to deploy long-range American missiles on German soil by 2026, sparking anger from Moscow.

French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu stated at the NATO summit in Washington that the new missile is intended for deterrence. He noted that the UK's new Labour government could join the project.

A military source revealed that the objective is for the new ground-launched missile to have a range between 1,000 and 2,000 kilometers, meeting NATO's demand for such capability.

Developing a missile with a range over 500 kilometers signifies that European NATO allies are effectively reinstating a category of weapons banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty until 2019.

The 1987 treaty, signed by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan, prohibited ground-launched nuclear and conventional missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.

The US withdrew from the INF Treaty in 2019, citing Russia's violation of the agreement through the development of the 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile, known in NATO as the SSC-8.

Russia denied these accusations, but President Vladimir Putin recently stated that Moscow must resume producing medium- and short-range nuclear-capable missiles in response to similar US deployments in Europe and Asia.

Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, there has been a resurgence in the development of cruise missiles with ranges of several hundred kilometers.

Europe's current stockpiles include air-launched weapons such as the British Storm Shadow, French SCALP, and German Taurus missiles, all with ranges around 500 kilometers.

Unlike ballistic and low-flying missiles, cruise missiles travel at low altitudes, making them difficult for radar systems to detect.

Simultaneously, the US Department of Defense and Germany announced in a joint statement that they would begin deploying long-range offensive systems in Germany by 2026, significantly enhancing existing capabilities.

The deployment will include SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles and developmental hypersonic weapons, aligning with the US military's global strategic plans.