The United States of America has long been the UK’s closest political and military ally. Since the end of the Cold War, The UK has joined in numerous US-led wars, and has rarely engaged in armed conflict except in coalition with the US. The US retains a significant military presence in the UK. However, the increasingly erratic behaviour of the Trump administration, signs of reduced US commitment to NATO, and even threats to annex territory of NATO allies, have led to increased questioning of the wisdom of excessive dependence on the US for security.
The UK-US military and political alliance is reflected in a major two-way arms trading relationship, and by a deep interweaving of the two countries’ arms industries. While the UK produces a large proportion of its military equipment domestically, it buys significant quantities of major conventional arms from the US, notably the F-35 combat aircraft, the Apache attack helicopter, and much more. The US is by far the UK’s largest foreign arms supplier. Perhaps the most significant UK arms import from the US is the Trident nuclear missiles, which are leased from a US-owned pool. This makes the UK’s so-called ‘independent nuclear deterrent’ in fact highly dependent on the US. The UK’s nuclear warheads are also based on US design and technology.
The UK is also the US’s leading foreign arms supplier, and the US is one of the top UK arms customers. Since the US produces the vast majority of its own arms, this does not create a similar dependence on UK military technology, but UK arms companies play a significant role in the supply chains of many US weapons programmes, most notably the F-35 stealth combat aircraft.
Beyond the exchange of arms and military components and technology, there is a strong defence industrial relationship – most of the top UK arms companies have major subsidiaries in the US, and many top and mid-level US arms companies likewise have significant UK subsidiaries.
This report maps the UK-US military industrial relationship, including arms sales in both directions, the intertwining of the two countries’ arms industries, and the role of UK companies in key US supply chains. It concludes with recommendations for ending UK complicity in the worst excesses of US militarism, and reducing UK military industrial dependence on the US in the long term.
