A recent agreement between France and Germany to jointly develop a new multi-billion dollar battlefield tank was immediately hailed as a “groundbreaking” achievement by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
“This is a historic moment,” he said.
I could understand his cries. For seven years, political infighting, industry rivalry, and neglect have hung like molasses around the next-generation tank construction project, known as the Main Combat Ground System.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago shook Europe from its military spending complacency. After defense budgets were cut in the decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the war reignited efforts in Europe to increase its military production capacity and near-sky arsenal.
But the challenges facing Europe are not just about money. Difficult political and logistical hurdles stand in the way of a more coordinated and efficient military apparatus. And even as tensions between Russia and its neighbors increase, they threaten to seriously impede the rapid buildup of Europe's defense capabilities.
“Europe has not just one, but 27 military-industrial complexes,” said Max Bergman, program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this summer, still sets European-wide defense strategies and spending targets, but does not control the equipment procurement process. Each NATO member country has its own defense infrastructure, culture, priorities, and preferred companies, and each government has the final say on what to buy.
“Even if we buy the same German tank, we build it differently so that defense companies can get some of it,” Bergmann said.
That's what prevented the German-French joint effort to develop a “tank of the future,” which would be equipped with drones, missiles, cloud computing and more, and is expected to be put into practical use by 2035 or 2040. Both countries are looking forward to it. The debate revolved around whether the tank's main gun should be the German-preferred 130-millimeter gun or the French-developed 140-millimeter gun.
The fragmentation of the defense market makes it difficult for Europe as a whole to rationalize costs and ensure the exchange of equipment, parts and ammunition across borders.
There are also competing political visions.
“Europe needs to do a better job of defending itself. This is an indisputable truth,” said Michael Schellhorn, CEO of Airbus, the European aerospace giant that manufactures military aircraft. ” he said. “So what does that mean and what are your ambitions?”
The European Union's two largest economies, France and Germany, have the two largest defense budgets among member states and are expected to spend a combined $120 billion this year. But they are on opposite sides of the debate.
France, which has its own nuclear arsenal, has been the strongest push in Europe to invest in a more powerful and self-sufficient military. President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly called for “European sovereignty” and “strategic autonomy” to balance US dominance over NATO. He voiced the deep concerns that many European governments have about their over-reliance on the United States for security.
Germany is more comfortable with its unequal partnership with Europe and the United States because it does not have its own nuclear weapons and relies on NATO's arsenal.
The active pacifist tendencies of the post-World War II era are still deeply rooted in German culture, and the people are just beginning to accept the idea that the military can be used to defend democracy without undermining it. .
Currently, efforts to replenish Europe's depleted arsenal are occurring at two speeds. Countries including Poland and Germany are buying fighter jets, missiles and ammunition from the United States and its allies in Asia, and France is pushing for an acceleration of “Made in Europe”. The defense industry will increase self-sufficiency.
A different approach can also be seen in part in response to the European Sky Shield, Germany's effort to mobilize the support of at least 20 NATO countries to create an integrated air and missile defense system across Europe. Paris saw the plan, which relied on Israeli and American equipment, as eliminating Europe's industrial base. Berlin portrayed the initiative as an exceptional show of European unity.
“Berlin is basically saying that this war shows that the EU does not have the industrial capacity to defend itself,” said Alexandra de Hoop Schaefer, senior vice president of strategy at the German Marshall Fund. Therefore, we argue that we need to buy large quantities of “American products.'' “And the French say this war shows that Europe's defense industrial capabilities need to be strengthened.”
In addition to France, Spain, and Italy, Sweden also became a new NATO member this year. have He argued that European funds should be used to invest in European military equipment production lines, improve the resilience of supply chains and generate raw materials and components instead of importing them.
The European Commission issued a similar message in March when it announced the European Defense Industrial Strategy, which aims to strengthen Europe's military industrial base. The plan, the first of its kind for Europe, ties hundreds of billions of euros in subsidies to requirements for European weapons manufacturers to cooperate. “Member states need to invest more, better, together, and in Europe,” the commission said.
In the past two years, 78% of the defense equipment acquired by EU member states came from outside the bloc, mostly from American weapons manufacturers uninterested in tougher competition with Europe. The European Union's new industrial strategy calls for countries to allocate half of their defense budgets to EU suppliers by 2030 and 60% by 2035.
Poland, on Ukraine's western border, spends more than 4% of its gross domestic product on defense. In addition to British-designed frigates, it purchased hundreds of tanks, fighter jets, helicopters, rocket launchers, and howitzers from the United States and South Korea. Central and Eastern European countries also purchase American products.
Mikael Johansson, CEO of Swedish weapons manufacturer Saab, said the EU's strategy “points us in the right direction”.
“But if we want the industry to invest billions of euros, European leaders must make a long-term commitment to buy what companies produce,” he said.
Then there's the question of how to pay the full amount. The European Union's treaties prohibit member states from using intra-regional funds to buy arms, and such spending must come from national budgets.
France is one of the countries with huge debts due to the pandemic.
Most governments, including Germany, have so far opposed the European defense bond proposal, which is supported by Estonia and France.
The Netherlands, Finland and Denmark are also wary of allowing the European Commission to gain further powers by influencing defense contracts with subsidies.
There are also concerns that the UK, which spends more on defense than any other NATO member in the region, could be excluded from the European Union's military buildup due to member-only preferential treatment.
For Europe's defense industry to survive, some smaller weapons manufacturers will have to merge or close, says the chief communications officer of KNDS, the French-German conglomerate chosen to help develop the next generation of tanks. Kurt Braatz said.
Defense companies rarely work together as a patchwork, with Europe operating more than five times as many weapons systems as the United States in categories such as tanks, fighter jets, submarines and munitions. Blaatz said the industry cannot compete with U.S. arms giants such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics in such a divided state. “We really need integration.”
Only large-scale operations can create the necessary economies of scale, producing enough weapons for export and making industry profitable.
Stories like this are causing discomfort in European capitals. “When you start talking about mergers, you end up shutting down companies and losing jobs in some countries,” said Gaspard Schnitzler, director of the defense and security industry program at the French Institute for International Strategic Studies. “And no one wants to lose their job.”
melissa eddy Contributed to the report.
