Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron have discussed the next steps towards establishing assembly lines for long-range SCALP cruise missiles inside Ukraine, as Britain and France deepen defence cooperation with Kyiv.
The proposal was discussed during Macron's meeting with Burnham at Downing Street on 3 September, according to the Prime Minister's Office.
Downing Street said the leaders discussed “next steps on establishing local assembly lines in Ukraine” for SCALP, the French-produced counterpart of Britain's Storm Shadow missile.
The development follows a decision announced by the UK Government in August allowing defence company MBDA to release classified information about British components used in SCALP so that France and Ukraine can move forward with local assembly.
British technology cleared for Ukrainian assembly
Burnham announced the British decision during his visit to Kyiv on Ukrainian Independence Day on 24 August, his first overseas visit after becoming Prime Minister.
The Government said it had agreed that MBDA could release classified information on UK components used in the long-range SCALP missile as Ukraine and France sought to establish local assembly lines.
SCALP is the French-produced version of the UK's Storm Shadow. The two weapons use shared French and British technology, meaning British approval is required for the release of sensitive information concerning UK components.
Downing Street said at the time that the decision would allow France and Ukraine to move forward with Ukrainian assembly of the missile.
Burnham and Macron discuss next steps
The project returned to the agenda when Macron visited Downing Street on 3 September.
The official account of the meeting said Burnham and Macron discussed the next steps towards establishing the Ukrainian assembly lines and reflected on the Coalition of the Willing meeting held in Kyiv the previous week.
The wording is significant. Britain and France are discussing the process of establishing local assembly capability; the Government has not announced that a production facility is already operating, nor has it published a location, production timetable or output target.
Storm Shadow and SCALP
Storm Shadow and SCALP are closely related air-launched long-range cruise missiles developed through British-French cooperation.
Britain became the first country to provide Ukraine with long-range strike weapons in 2023 when it supplied Storm Shadow missiles for use against Russian forces.
Giving Ukraine the ability to assemble SCALP missiles locally would represent a further step beyond supplying completed weapons, potentially strengthening the country's ability to sustain its own long-range strike capability.
However, permission for MBDA to release classified information and political discussions about assembly lines should not be interpreted as confirmation that Ukrainian-built missiles are already being produced.
Part of wider UK support for Ukraine
The Government says the move complements Project Brakestop, a separate British effort to develop lower-cost advanced long-range strike weapons for Ukraine.
During his August visit to Kyiv, Burnham said Britain remained committed to Ukraine for “as long as it takes” and argued that Ukraine's security was directly connected to Britain's own security.
The Government says UK support for Ukraine is underpinned by the 100 Year Partnership between the two countries and includes £25 billion of funding, of which £16 billion is military assistance and £5.6 billion is non-military support.
UK and France deepen defence cooperation
Britain and France jointly lead the Coalition of the Willing supporting Ukraine, and the SCALP discussions form part of broader attempts to increase European defence support as the war continues.
Burnham and Macron also used their Downing Street talks to discuss small-boat crossings, Britain's relationship with Europe, the Strait of Hormuz and developments in the Middle East.
For Ukraine, however, the missile discussions potentially mark an important shift towards locating more Western-backed defence production inside the country itself.
The next significant milestones will be confirmation of the practical arrangements for the assembly lines, including where they will operate and when locally assembled missiles could begin to emerge.