Page 43 - Five Forces of Americanisation Richard Hooke 04072025 final post SDR1

The UK Defence Industry in the 21 Century
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The Five Forces of Americanisation

The Five Forces of Americanisation

3. The Special Relationship and ITAR

Synopsis
The UK’s “special” relationship with the US has endured since the Great War, strengthened by restoring
peace in Europe in World War II, severely tested in Iraq between 2003 and 2011 and, later, in the
“United States’ longest war” in Afghanistan from 1999 to 2021. Interoperability with US forces has
been explicit policy for the British Armed Forces.

Underpinned by a common belief in democracy and justice and reinforced by a credible threat of
enforcement (former US president Theodore Roosevelt’s “Big Stick”) the relationship has been
enhanced by a UK defence industry that has become progressively more integrated with its US peers.

Attracted by its sheer size, accessibility, sources of finance and the opportunity to shift some of their
cost base to a US dollar-denominated location, UK defence companies now routinely operate in the
USA. However, whilst the US believes that, as former President Joe Biden put it in 2024, “alliances make
our people safer”, it maintains a tight grip on its defence technology, including that acquired from
other countries, notably the UK, through company acquisitions.
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush
“Each of our nations stands taller when we stand together” George W Bush, Crawford Texas, March, 2002)

(AFP/Getty)
The “Special Relationship” … more vexatious and volatile by the day
“The security and prosperity of the Euro-Atlantic will remain our core priority, bolstered by a reinvigoration
of our European relationships.”
(Integrated Review Refresh 2023 “Responding to a more contested and volatile world” HM Government;
March, 2023)
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“The UK is "not choosing between the US and the EU", Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said after
President Donald Trump threatened the European Union with trade tariffs.
“Asked if he would be willing to water down attempts to forge closer ties with the EU in exchange for
keeping the US on side, Sir Keir said both relationships were important to the UK.
“"Now, that for me isn't new, I think that's always been the case and will be the case for many, many years
to come," he added”.
(Kate Whannel, Political reporter, BBC News, February, 2025
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"The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other
external actor," said Vance. "What I worry about is the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some
of its most fundamental values — values shared with the United States of America."
(US Vice President JD Vance, Munich Security Conference, 15 February, 2025)

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07/07/2025 Richard Hooke 2025