How a strong European defence base benefits smaller countries

The benefits of a strong European defence technological and industrial base are relevant not only for larger countries that have an extensive and diverse domestic defence industry with big original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), but also for smaller countries with a more limited and/or highly specialised industrial capacity:

• Having internationally competitive European OEMs ensures that smaller countries have multiple procurement options, rather than facing a monopoly situation from a third country supplier.
• A strong European defence technological and industrial base gives smaller countries the option to join European cooperative development programmes. This enables them to gain a degree of access to sensitive technical and operational aspects of the relevant capability and to technological know-how that would not be available via an off-the-shelf procurement. Such partnering arrangements also provide smaller countries with important security of supply benefits that result from the mutual dependence intrinsic to cooperative programmes and with priority access to additional production lots at the same economic conditions.
• Participation in such programmes also enables the industry of smaller countries to build a knowledge base that facilitates involvement in the development of future defence products in the same class/domain. Conversely, while off-the-shelf procurements from third countries may include some local work in the customer country, this rarely extends to any involvement in design or development work. As such, it may provide a degree of economic “return”, but it is generally not an effective means of maintaining an enduring defence industrial capability.