In a joint communiqué, the ministries stated: “ELSA will facilitate and increase the ability of European Nations to fulfill capability development goals in line with the NATO Defence Planning Process and national operational requirements.” They added that work carried out in recent months is shaping capability area clusters covering all aspects of long-range precision strike capabilities that are key contributors to deterrence and defence posture, with several projects now mature enough to allow new European partners to join.
These mature areas include Airborne Early Warning capability, Air-launched long-range capability, the Euro Multi Missile Launcher, and low-cost 500km+ capabilities based on one-way-attack effectors. The letter of intent, signed on 12 February 2026, seeks to harmonise and accelerate the development and procurement of long-range one-way effectors across Europe, as the six nations reaffirm their intention to undertake significant efforts to enhance deep-strike capabilities and to rapidly strengthen Europe’s ability to deter and defend.
