Defence industry

What was of particular interest in this seminar was that it combined both a discussion of the technical, immediate aspects of European defence and a more general reflection on developments in American policy and the direction being taken by European construction.

The first session focused on threat perceptions and threat assessments. The key question was whether a threat exists that justifies NMD deployment. Do the so-called ‘countries of concern’ really intent to threaten the US homeland and, even more importantly, do they have the...

With considerable delay in comparison to aerospace and defense electronics, a restructuring process is occurring in Europe’s land armaments sector. National consolidation in the big arms producing countries is paralleled by an increasing number of transnational link-ups.

In Europe, arms and dual-use exports raise complex questions. They fall between two policy spheres that are organised in a distinctly contrasting manner. On the one hand, they are an intrinsic part of commercial policy that lies within the exclusive competence of the European...

At present, the European defence market is fragmented and characterised by a plethora of national standards. But with the need for defence standardisation becoming increasingly critical in an era marked by declining defence expenditure, what steps can be taken to ensure success?

Despite economic growth returning to Europe, defence budgets continued to fall in 2014. Given the worsening security situation in Europe’s neighbourhood, a renewed commitment to defence would represent an important demonstration of solidarity – both within the Union and to...

In 2014 the world spent more on defence than ever before, with three players standing out as essential drivers of this trend: China, Saudi Arabia and Russia. Are their heavy investments in defence having an impact on their behaviour in their respective regional environments?

As the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) programme celebrates five years of successful flight operations, this Alert provides an overview of this multinational initiative which has provided even very small European countries with a strategic transport capability that they would...

This Alert offers a preliminary sketch of what a Europe-wide security of supply regime could look like. Should such a regime follow an emphasis on maintaining open markets and ensuring competitiveness, or should it follow an insistence on greater protection and a ‘buy European’...

What steps is the US taking in order to ensure that it remains technologically superior to its rivals when it comes to defence matters? Is there still a role for Europe in the race to stay ahead of the game?