According to the joint declaration published by the UK Government, the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom have agreed to begin establishing a purely defensive Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition. The document presents the move as a response to the growing ballistic missile threat to European security and confirms support for a Flagship Project intended to move quickly towards an anti-ballistic missile capability. This is an initiation decision rather than a claim that a full system is already in place. In policy terms, the declaration opens a structured multinational process in which participating states will attempt to align defence requirements, technical planning and industrial cooperation around a shared capability objective.
The strategic aim is set out in broad but clear terms. The signatories say Europe requires an integrated missile defence architecture able to deter and defeat future missile threats, and they frame the project as purely defensive, stating that it is being built not against any people, but in defence of their own. The declaration also states that the coalition is intended to complement existing ballistic missile defence systems, including sovereign European solutions that participating countries have already acquired or may acquire. That wording is important because it places the project alongside national systems rather than in place of them, with the emphasis on coordination, compatibility and added collective capacity.
The text goes further than a general statement of intent by identifying the administrative steps needed to turn the proposal into a working programme. The founding members say they aim to establish common operational requirements, joint technical working groups, clear governance mechanisms and a roadmap towards the coalition's first operational capabilities. For officials and defence planners, those elements are the practical foundation of the initiative. Common operational requirements define the threats the coalition is preparing for, technical working groups convert that requirement into design and procurement choices, and governance mechanisms determine how decisions will be taken across ten states and Ukraine while remaining within national constitutional arrangements and international obligations.
Industrial policy and research cooperation are also written directly into the declaration. The signatories say they will seek to support joint research and development activity under the Flagship Project, explore appropriate funding opportunities and promote stronger data and information exchange. That matters because the proposal is not limited to military coordination. It points to an effort to connect defence manufacturers, research bodies and operational users around a shared European anti-ballistic missile effort. The reference to technological openness and trusted industrial cooperation suggests that member states want scope to combine national expertise while keeping future procurement choices open.
Ukraine is given a distinct place in the text. The signatories expressly acknowledge the country's experience gained while defending itself against Russia's war of aggression, indicating that Ukrainian operational knowledge will be treated as a serious input into coalition planning. In practical terms, that experience is relevant to questions of readiness, system resilience, integration speed and the performance expected from missile defence in real conditions. It gives the initiative an immediate operational reference point, rather than presenting it only as a long-range industrial or diplomatic project.
The founding members are Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. The declaration also states that the coalition will remain open to other nations that share its principles and objectives, leaving room for later expansion if political support and technical alignment develop. The next phase will be defined less by rhetoric than by delivery. The immediate tests are whether the members can agree detailed requirements, stand up workable governance, identify funding routes and move from declaration language to early capability milestones. On the terms published by the UK Government, the coalition's purpose is now formally set: to build a shared, defensive European anti-ballistic missile capacity through coordinated state action.