Britain and Germany will sign a defense pact to counter Russia's growing threat

LONDON — German submarine-hunting planes will patrol the North Atlantic from a base in Scotland under a new Britain-Germany defense pact in response to the growing threat from Russia, officials said.

Defense ministers from Britain and Germany will sign the agreement in London on Wednesday in what officials call the first such defense pact between the two countries to boost European security amid rising Russian aggression.

''The U.K. and Germany are moving closer together. With projects across the air, land, sea, and cyber domains, we will jointly increase our defence capabilities, thereby strengthening the European pillar within NATO,'' German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement ahead of signing the deal.

''It is particularly important to me that we cooperate 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,'' he added.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Under the deal, German submarine hunter aircraft are expected to operate ''periodically'' from a Scottish military base to patrol the North Atlantic. The allies will work closer together to protect vital underwater cables in the North Sea.

The two countries say they will also cooperate to prioritize developing long-range strike weapons that can travel farther than the U.K.'s existing Storm Shadow missiles. German defense giant Rheinmetall is also expected to open a factory producing artillery gun barrels using British steel.

Officials say the pact will mean British and German forces committed to NATO in Estonia and Lithuania will exercise and operate together more closely, ensuring that ''land forces on NATO's eastern flank remain a strong deterrent and are ready to fight and win if required.''

Britain and Germany are also expected to collaborate on developing new land-based and aerial drones.