- European Union defence procurement
European defence procurement refers to the collective armaments purchasing policies of European nations.
Traditionally European countries have either developed their own weapon systems or bought 'off the shelf' systems usually
NATO -sponsored from theUnited States or fromSoviet Union , now fromRussia . In the modern era, reduced defence budgets and increasing complexity make it difficult for most countries to develop their own weapon systems. Furthermore identical projects in differing countries was recognised as a waste of resources. However the same countries often do not wish to purchase American systems because the perception of a loss of sovereignty and the profits (and jobs) go to American companies.Therefore some European nations are attempting to pool their resources to create multinational programmes to create a more independent and competitive capability. The
European Defence Agency was established in2001 to create such a stronger European market for defence equipment.History
The
Eurofighter Typhoon is an example of European commitment to its own industry. When the British government cancelled the TSR-2 and purchased theF-4 Phantom II there was outcry. Previously theUnited Kingdom ,Germany andItaly had cooperated in producing thePanavia Tornado in the 1970s.Industry
While European defence budgets remain fragmented and massive duplication in research and development exists, the European defence industry has made some moves towards consolidation.
British Aerospace was widely expected to merge withGermany ’sDASA to form the first major European defence giant. Instead in1999 BAe merged with another British company, GEC's defence businesses (GEC-Marconi ), to formBAE Systems which has tended to focus on the Anglo-American market. As a result, in 2000, DASA merged withAerospatiale-Matra to formEADS . Further consolidation of the smaller defence firms cannot be ruled out.In 2002 the formation of
MBDA brought together the product portfolios ofAerospatiale Matra Missiles (of EADS),Alenia Marconi Systems missiles, andMatra BAe Dynamics to form Europe's No. 1 missile manufacturer and No. 2 globally afterRaytheon .Other major players include
*AgustaWestland
*BAE Systems
*Dassault Aviation
*Diehl BGT Defence
*Eurocopter
*Eurofighter International
*Finmeccanica
*Krauss-Maffei
*MBDA
*Rheinmetall
*Rolls-Royce
*Snecma
*Thales
*ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Products
Below are some examples of European products and the previously weapons they may replace.
*A400M – replacingC-130 and Franco/GermanTransall
*Meteor – replacingAMRAAM as long-range AAM
*ASRAAM andIRIS-T – replacingAIM-9 Sidewinder as short-range AAM
*Eurofighter Typhoon – replacing F-4 Phantom II, F-16s, Tornado F.3
*Eurocopter Tiger – for France, Germany and Spain
*EH101 – largely replacing European helicopters
*NH90 – largely replacing European helicopters
*PzH 2000 – replacing M109 Paladin
*Leopard 2
*ATF Dingo
*Fennek
*GTK Boxer
*Horizon class frigate andFREMM multipurpose frigate both for the French and Italian navies
*Type 212 andType 214 submarine , equipping the German, Greek and Italian navies.There are several examples where one country continues to pursue purely national programmes because collaboration would be unacceptable or undesirable. For example both the UK and France continue to develop and operate independent nuclear deterrent. Likewise France's desire for military and industrial independence has motivated its continued pursuit of high-technology projects, e.g.
Dassault Rafale .Multinational programmes can fail because of disagreements about price or capability. For example while the UK terminated its collaboration with France and Italy on the next generation frigate (
Horizon CNGF ) and started a national Type 45 programme. However the warships will share some systems, primarily theMBDA Aster missile.British Prime Minister
Tony Blair came under pressure from PresidentBill Clinton to select Raytheon's future missile to arm the Eurofighter, [cite news | first =Neil | last = Baumgardner | title = Raytheon Offers Joint Development of New Missile with UK | work = Defense Daily | publisher = Phillips Business Information, Inc. | date = 1999-09-16 | accessdate = 2006-12-02] however the UK government selected the European Meteor air to air missile. The Meteor could be deemed riskier, however the Meteor armed Typhoon will not be subject to U.S. export controls and MBDA now has a missile product with no real competition from American manufacturers.Fact|date=February 2007Likewise European governments were actively dissuaded by the US Department of Defense from continuing the A400M project, the Pentagon argued that the Lockheed C-130J and
Boeing C-17 provided all the capability European governments needed and was already flying.Fact|date=February 2007 The DOD also argued that to spend limited budgetary resources on such duplication was foolish. Continuing delays and lack of agreement in the A400M programme have however already caused the R.A.F. to purchase the Boeing C-17Fact|date=February 2007.The previous generation American fight plane (
F-16 ) was widely sold throughout Europe.Fact|date=August 2008See also
*
OCCAR
*European Security and Defence Policy
*European Defence Agency References
External links
* [http://www.european-defence.co.uk European Defence (UK NGO)]
* [http://www.bl.uk/collections/business/pdf/defence_industry_guide.pdf The British Library - finding information on the defence industry (PDF file)]
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