German Luftwaffe planes to fly from UK base to spot Russian subs under new defence pact

The new UK-Germany Trinity House Agreement will see German submarine-hunting planes fly from Scotland to patrol the North Atlantic for Russian vessels targeting undersea cables

The German Luftwaffe will operate from a base in the UK under a major defence pact to be signed this week.

The new UK-Germany Trinity House Agreement will see German submarine-hunting planes fly from Scotland to patrol the North Atlantic for Russian vessels targeting undersea cables.

And German arms giant Rheinmetall will open a factory to produce gun barrels using British steel.

The plant, expected to be up and running by 2027, will support 400 jobs and will use steel made by Sheffield Forgemasters, the government said on Tuedsay.

Defence Secretary John Healey said: “"The Trinity House Agreement is a milestone moment in our relationship with Germany, and a major strengthening of Europe's security.

"It secures unprecedented levels of new co-operation with the German armed forces and industry, bringing benefits to our shared security and prosperity, protecting our shared values and boosting our defence industrial bases.

"This landmark agreement delivers on the Government's manifesto commitment to strike a new defence relationship with Germany - less than four months since winning the election in July - and we will build on this new co-operation in the months and years ahead.”

German defence minister Boris Pistorius added: "We must not take security in Europe for granted. Russia is waging war against Ukraine, it is increasing its weapons production immensely and has repeatedly launched hybrid attacks on our partners in eastern Europe.

"With the Trinity House Agreement, we are showing that the Nato allies have recognised what these times require and are determined to improve their deterrence and defence capabilities.

"As it lays the foundation for future projects, the Trinity House Agreement is an important contribution to this.

"It is particularly important to me that we co-operate even more closely to strengthen Nato's eastern flank and to close critical capability gaps, for instance in the field of long-range strike weapons."