UK, France and Germany launch $50B NATO initiative for long-range weapons as Europe rearms without Washington
European powers are building their own deep-strike missile capabilities, and the defense spending surge has ripple effects across crypto markets tied to geopolitical risk
Europe’s biggest military powers are done waiting by the phone. The UK, France, and Germany are spearheading a NATO initiative tied to at least $50 billion in defense procurement as they race to develop long-range strike weapons without relying on the United States.
The effort centers on the European Long-Range Strike Approach, known as ELSA, which aims to build ground-launched missiles capable of hitting targets between 500 and 2,000 kilometers away.
What’s actually happening
ELSA launched in 2024 with the UK, France, and Germany as its founding pillars. The initiative has since expanded to include Italy, Poland, and Sweden, with formal agreements on technical requirements signed in June 2026.
The broader context here is the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara, scheduled for July 2026. Arms deals associated with that summit are estimated at a minimum of $50 billion, covering everything from surveillance drones to early-warning aircraft from defense contractors like Northrop Grumman and Saab.
The UK alone has allocated over £400 million in a single fiscal year toward hypersonic and long-range missile collaboration.
The driving force behind all of this is straightforward: Russia’s military actions in Ukraine exposed how dependent European NATO members had become on American defense systems.
The bigger picture
The inclusion of Poland and Sweden in ELSA is particularly telling. Poland has been NATO’s most aggressive spender on the eastern flank, while Sweden only joined NATO in 2024. Both countries bring specific geographic and strategic value to a European strike architecture that doesn’t route through the Pentagon.