Last week, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs announced that Riga intended to join a concept known as "advanced nuclear deterrence," a strategy outlined by French President Emmanuel Macron during a speech in March 2022. This approach allows European nations to support nuclear deterrence efforts by associating their conventional military forces with exercises and signaling actions. Macron explained that while countries could participate in these efforts, the ultimate decision-making and planning related to nuclear weapons would remain with France. The goal is to make it harder for potential adversaries to predict or counteract European defense strategies by dispersing French strategic forces across the continent. Several European countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Greece, Norway, and Finland, have already joined this initiative. If Latvia moves forward, it could become the first Baltic nation to participate in this French-led effort. In a statement released on September 22, Kulbergs said he had been in regular contact with Macron about enhancing security and defense cooperation between Latvia and France. Macron has agreed to begin discussions on Latvia’s potential accession to the initiative, as well as on increasing France’s military presence in Latvia, particularly in air defense. The negotiations between Latvia and France are expected to involve the types of military support Latvia might offer to French strategic forces. In recent years, Latvia has focused on building a deep-strike capability by acquiring American M142 HIMARS rocket launchers paired with MGM-140 ATACMS missiles, which have a range of 300 kilometers. However, the country is looking to further strengthen this capacity. On September 25, Latvian President Edgars Rinkėvičs announced plans to purchase Barracuda cruise missiles from the American company Anduril. He described a visit to Anduril’s headquarters, where he met with Palmer Luckey, the company’s founder, and signed cooperation agreements with the Latvian Ministry of Defense and Origin Robotics. Rinkėvičs expressed excitement about acquiring the long-range missiles and expanding defense industry collaboration with the United States, though he provided no additional details. The Barracuda missile system includes three models: the Barracuda-100 (160 km range, helicopter-launched), the Barracuda-250 (370 km range), and the Barracuda-500, which can reach more than 900 km at a speed of 500 knots. These missiles are notable for their cost-effectiveness and the ability to be mass-produced quickly. Given Latvia's lack of combat aviation, it is likely the country is seeking the ground-based Barracuda-500, known as the SLB-500M. Latvia could potentially use 3.5 billion euros in loans from the European Commission’s SAFE financial mechanism to fund the purchase, provided the missiles meet the requirement of having no more than 35% of components sourced from third countries. In July, Anduril signed a production agreement with the Polish company PGZ to manufacture the Barracuda 500 in Poland, making it eligible for the SAFE program.