You know our military's screwed when we have to turn to a nation we defeated for help

Well, what do we make of the new UK- defence love-in, the Trinity House Agreement? Britain and Germany have just signed what the British government describes as a "landmark defence agreement" aimed at enhancing security, investment, and jobs.

The in opposition had pledged to build closer military ties with Germany, and now that it forms the Government it is clearly pushing ahead to do just that. A different but similar agreement is already in place with .

Delving into the detail of the agreement, there are a number of themes to it. In no particular order, the arrangement makes arrangements for the German defence company Rheinmetall to establish a factory in the UK to manufacture gun barrels using steel from the UK government-owned Sheffield Forgemasters.

For some unfathomable reason Britain abandoned the ability to make its own gun barrels over a decade ago. Now the Germans will be instrumental in starting it up again, and 400 jobs are promised.

It also appears that there will be collaboration on the development of the next generation of long range strike weapons to replace the UK's Storm Shadow and Germany's Taurus cruise missiles.

Plus there's the commitment to joint work on future drone development, all part of the current "drone mania" that has gripped governments and militaries around the globe.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect, however, is the news that German P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft (MRA) will operate from the UK, presumably from Lossiemouth in Scotland, from time to time.

They will join US and Norwegian aircraft already using the facility, turning Lossiemouth even more into a de facto NATO base. It is only 80 years ago that the was doing its damnedest to knock Luftwaffe aircraft out of the sky, and now German aircraft visit by invitation. Time certainly moves on.

Taking a broader view, the immediate question seems to be whether the agreement is a sign of weakness or strength in Britain's defence posture. I think the answer might be a bit of both.

Weakness because it's quite clear that successive governments have allowed Britain's defence and security to atrophy, largely through chronic underfunding. That we are unable to manufacture our own tank and artillery gun barrels without German assistance is a bit of a national embarrassment.

Strength because, at long last, there seems to be moves afoot to bolster the UK's defence and security apparatus and national resilience. And not before time I hear you say.

Cynics have not been slow off the mark with their criticisms. One MoD insider has stated that "it's a photo op for politicians to make them look busy, nothing more. A few German P-8s to Lossie every now and again".

And former Defence Secretary Sir has said that the agreement is "made up of stuff we are already doing or had started. This has more to do with 'SPD is our sister party' than real military mutual benefit".

It has also once again raised questions about how close, and how involved, the UK wants to be in terms of a common EU defence policy, and what real commitments to it might be required in the future.

Politicians and senior military figures alike fear loss of national sovereign control over Britain' Armed Forces, and any mention of an "EU army" tends to bring them out in hives.

Their opponents point out quite rightly that the UK has already lost sovereignty over the services through its membership of NATO, the bedrock of Britain's defence policy. My personal view is that a closer military alliance with our former EU partners like France and Germany does not have to be mutually exclusive to our membership and the two can run in parallel.

The obvious problem here is, of course, that the British military has been so run-down over the past few decades that it can't even fulfil the commitments to NATO that have already been made. There's as much chance of the UK currently being able to deliver an armoured division to the field, for example, as there is for me to fly to the Moon.

So there we have it. Progress of sorts, but much, much more to do for Starmer's Government. And with the Budget coming soon, and then the results of the Strategic Defence Review due in the New Year, what shape Britain's defences will be in thereafter is anybody's guess.

Lt Col Stuart Crawford is a political and defence commentator and former army officer. Sign up for his podcasts and newsletters at www.DefenceReview.uk