Britain and France will sign defence treaties at a summit in London Tuesday setting out cooperation on issues including military planes and aircraft carriers, Prime Minister David Cameron said.
"Tomorrow, the British and French governments will sign new defence and security cooperation treaties," Cameron told parliament, adding that they would "deliver for our national interest while protecting our national sovereignty."
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The deal is a bid to allow two medium-sized nuclear powers to remain global players in the face of economic austerity, officials and diplomats say - and Cameron admitted that saving money was one of the objectives.
"There are many areas where we can work together and enhance our capabilities and save money at the same time," he said.
Cameron cited cooperation on the A400M transport aircraft and on aircraft carriers, while media reports suggest the defence treaty will also see the creation of a new ad hoc joint military force between the nations.
Such a force is likely to be opposed by Eurosceptics within Cameron's Conservative party.
"To those who worry that this might in some way lead to sort of European armies - that is not the point. The point is to enhance sovereign capability by two like-minded countries being able to work together," he insisted.
Cameron said the pacts would follow the principle he had stuck to at a meeting of European Union leaders last week when Britain pressed to keep the EU budget in line with reduced national budgets.
"Partnership - yes. But giving away sovereignty - no," he said.
Sarko busts taboos
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who will attend the summit in London, said this year he was ready to remove "taboos" and consider "concrete projects" to work with Britain.
British Defence Secretary Liam Fox wrote in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper that at the summit "this relationship will be taken to a new level -- the closest it has ever been."
He said the aim was to strengthen the relationship "at all levels," from joint training to the acquisition of equipment and technology and information sharing, but added: "We will maintain an autonomous capability."
The treaties come against the backdrop of a defence review by Cameron's coalition government published earlier this month, part of a programme of deep cuts in public spending to tackle a record budget deficit.
The document says Britain intended to remain a "global player" despite cuts of up to eight percent to the defence budget and describes France as "one of the UK's main strategic partners."
Britain and France together account for 50 percent of Europe's operational military capability, 45 percent of its defence spending and 70 percent of the research and development needed to fight the wars of the future.
Paris and London have however been keen to reject any notion that their armed forces will become inter-dependent - especially in the highly sensitive area of nuclear weapons.
In the name of "improved inter-operability" cooperation, British and French pilots would train on each others' aircraft carriers, the Charles de Gaulle and the future Queen Elizabeth, by 2016-2020.
