This week RAF Typhoons have flown alongside French Rafale jets - the first time the UK has taken part in a French nuclear air exercise. It's a landmark step in UK-France defence co-operation, and a clear signal that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies on European security and credible deterrence.

Back from a successful trip to Washington to meet @SecWar. The gravest dangers of the 20th century are returning, armed with the technologies of the 21st.    We need to strengthen our military capabilities, out-innovate and out-produce our adversaries, and strengthen our alliances. No alliance in the world is as close as 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 We’ve never been content to merely watch history unfold. We’ve acted to determine its course. When freedom and tyranny are in competition we stand for freedom. We discussed the frontline for freedom in Ukraine, the threat posed by Iran, and our responsibility to strengthen European NATO in the face of Russian aggression. The UK is the causeway across the Atlantic that binds together Europe and America. In times of our greatest peril, we have shown ourselves capable of achieving great things. We still can. We’re delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War - a stronger Britain, in a stronger Europe, for a stronger NATO.