UK and France Sign Agreement to Purchase New Storm Shadow Missiles
On 10 July 2025, the United Kingdom and France sealed a new defense pact at London’s Lancaster House, agreeing to order additional Storm Shadow cruise missiles jointly. The deal was signed during a UK–France summit (under a “Lancaster House 2.0” declaration) and was announced by UK Defence Secretary John Healey and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu.
According to the UK Ministry of Defence, the refreshed agreement commits both nations to “launch the next phase” of their missile cooperation, ordering more Storm Shadows while co‑developing their successor weapons. UK Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, said:
“The UK and France are stepping up together to meet today’s threats and tomorrow’s challenges. We are committed to driving defence as an engine for growth, delivering better fighting capabilities faster, and ensuring our armed forces can operate side by side – from the High North to the Black Sea.”
The Storm Shadow (called SCALP-EG in French service) is a long‑range, air‑launched cruise missile built by MBDA (Matra BAe Dynamics Alenia). It weighs about 1,300 kg and carries a multi-stage high‑explosive warhead (roughly 400–450 kg) designed for penetrating hardened bunkers and fixed infrastructure. Using advanced INS/GPS navigation with terrain reference and an infrared seeker, Storm Shadow can fly at very low altitude to evade air defenses and strike with high precision. Its published range is on the order of 250–550 km, allowing launch aircraft (such as Rafale, Typhoon, or Tornado jets) to engage distant targets while remaining outside most enemy zones. The missile is combat‑proven – already in service with the UK and French air forces (and others), having been used effectively in conflicts from Iraq and Libya to Syria and most recently by the Ukrainian air force.
French and British defence officials say the procurement is driven broader strategic needs. In recent years, both countries donated much of their Storm Shadow stock to Ukraine, highlighting the importance of replenishing and expanding these strike capabilities. Ministers stressed that ordering new missiles fits into a wider “Entente Industrielle (industrial agreement)” under the Lancaster House 2.0 defense treaty. Lecornu noted that the discussions surrounded “in-depth coordination on the main security threats against Europe, in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the resources our armed forces are developing to deal with them.”
The pact is explicitly aimed at modernizing Franco-British forces, co‑developing next‑generation deep‑strike and anti-ship weapons, and strengthening NATO’s deterrence. The UK government has noted that deeper industrial cooperation with France will “boost national resilience” and the ability to deter attacks on Europe. Prime Minister Keir Starmer commented that, facing “war in Europe” and new threats, the UK and France must use their shared might to advance joint capabilities. The new Storm Shadow order not only sustains critical defense jobs but also signals that London and Paris are bolstering their joint air‑strike and deterrence posture in an increasingly tense security environment.