Why do we need a European defence industry?

Any European country has three options for acquiring the defence equipment it needs: (1) establishing a domestic defence industrial capacity for developing and producing the products needed; (2) developing and procuring equipment in cooperation with European or other international partners; (3) importing off-the-shelf equipment from third countries.

Given the complexity and cost of most defence systems and equipment, no European country can afford to sustain a full-spectrum domestic defence industry alone, and although there are some European cooperative programmes, many countries in Europe regularly purchase significant proportions of their defence equipment off-the-shelf from non-European sources, most notably the US. Sometimes they do so even when there are viable and readily available European alternatives.  

There are very good reasons for having a European defence technological and industrial base (EDTIB) capable of developing and producing the full spectrum of state-of-the-art defence capabilities:

• It enables Europe to sustain the highly specialised skills and facilities required to provide our armed forces with the systems and equipment they need to fulfil their missions. The very existence of such assets in Europe enhances the credibility of Europe’s armed forces, and thus also bolsters their deterrent effect.
• It maximises security of supply for European armed forces, since European suppliers are not subject to the evolving foreign policy considerations of third states, whose permission is needed for any sale of military equipment to Europe. In times of crisis, heightened demand or disruption of international supply chains, the availability of a sufficient European industrial capacity allows the quick ramp-up of production, without undue dependence on the goodwill, capacity or prioritisation of others.
• It allows European defence ministries and armed forces to have unambiguous, enduring and unfettered access to, control over, and system-level understanding of the equipment of their armed forces. This enables them to shape the designs precisely to address their specific requirements. It also ensures that Europeans have complete freedom to modify or upgrade key systems and incorporate domestically produced weapons, sensors, and other sub-systems, without having to obtain permission from a third country supplier or join a potentially lengthy upgrade queue. 
• It provides European armed forces with the freedom to operate their defence systems and equipment as they need and European governments with the freedom to export or transfer such capabilities, in full respect of applicable national and international law, to partners and allies abroad in line with their interests and values. This is in contrast to foreign-made products, which are often subject to operational and/or export restrictions by the producing country.

Having a European defence technological and industrial base (EDTIB) capable of developing and producing the full spectrum of state-of-the-art capabilities is the essential precondition for all the above. It enables Europe to sustain the highly specialised skills and facilities required to develop, produce and maintain the systems and equipment our armed forces need to fulfil their missions. The very existence of such assets in Europe enhances the credibility of Europe’s armed forces, and thus also bolsters their deterrent effect.