THE ROMAN EMPIRE "RELOADS"

THE ROMAN EMPIRE “RELOADS”
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“A PROPOSED A 10 MEMBER
EUROPEAN SECURITY COUNCIL
TO MAKE EU-WIDE DEFENSE
DECISIONS”
“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings
who have received no kingdom as yet, but they
receive authority for one hour as kings with THE
BEAST. These are of one mind, and they will
give their power and authority to THE
BEAST. These will make war with the Lamb, and
the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of
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lords and King of kings; and those who are with
Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw,
where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes,
nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which
you saw on THE BEAST, these will hate the
harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her
flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it
into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, TO BE OF
ONE MIND, AND TO GIVE THEIR KINGDOM TO
THE BEAST, until the words of God are
fulfilled. And the woman whom you saw is
THAT GREAT CITY (NEOM BABYLON) which
reigns over the kings of the earth.”
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CHAPTERS
• EUROPE RAMPS UP DEFENCE
MANUFACTURING — CAN IT BE READY IN
TIME?
• EU MUST 'MOVE TOWARDS CREATING
EUROPEAN ARMY'
• TRUMP’S MOVES ARE PUSHING EUROPE
INTO AN ARMY OF ITS OWN
• EU DEFENSE HEAD CALLS FOR PERMANENT
100,000-STRONG BLOC ARMY
• GREENLAND, IRAN, UKRAINE - AND NOW, A
EUROPEAN ARMY
• MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN KEY PLAYER IN
REGIONAL PEACE, EU OFFICIAL SAYS
• EUROPE, UK SHOULD HAVE JOINT 100,000-
STRONG MILITARY FORCE
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EUROPE RAMPS UP DEFENCE
MANUFACTURING — CAN IT BE READY
IN TIME?
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Europe and defense have been written about relentlessly over the past
year. And while THE URGENCY KEEPS GETTING LOUDER, ACTIONS ARE
STILL NOT MATCHING THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM.
January’s events alone, such as troop withdrawals, tariff threats, and
Arctic brinkmanship, turned a slow debate about burden sharing into a
real test of WHETHER EUROPE CAN PROTECT ITSELF without defaulting
to someone else, again.
ULTIMATELY, EUROPE IS NOT CHOOSING STRATEGIC AUTONOMY. IT IS
BEING FORCED INTO IT, FASTER THAN ITS INSTITUTIONS ARE DESIGNED
TO HANDLE. AND INVESTORS ARE PRICING THIS IN.
WHEN SECURITY STOPS BEING ABSTRACT
Administration charts and staffing decisions speak louder than
battlefields nowadays, especially when it comes to protectionism.
The United States began pulling a small number of officers out of NATO
bodies tied to intelligence fusion, special operations planning, and
maritime coordination. And though the numbers were modest, the
message was not.
At the same time, EUROPEAN LEADERS COMMITTED TO DEFENSE
SPENDING TARGETS THAT WOULD HAVE SOUNDED UNREALISTIC A FEW
YEARS AGO.
5% OF GDP IS NOW DISCUSSED OPENLY, NOT AS A DISTANT ASPIRATION
BUT AS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD ARRIVE CLOSER TO 2030 THAN
2035.
For context, NATO data shows that only a handful of European countries
reached even 2% before the Ukraine war.
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The result is a new starting point. SECURITY IS NO LONGER AN
INSURANCE POLICY UNDERWRITTEN BY SOMEONE ELSE.
It has become a line item that competes with pensions, healthcare, and
debt servicing. Markets have already adjusted to this reality. Politics is
still catching up.
EUROPE STILL HAS A DEPENDENCY PROBLEM
Europe often describes its defence challenge as one of spending too little.
The deeper issue is spending in the wrong way for too long.
Between 2020 and 2024, about 64% of European NATO arms imports
came from the United States, according to SIPRI.
This includes aircraft, missiles, air defence systems, and the software
layers that tie them together.
These are not items that can be swapped out easily, because they lock
buyers into supply chains, upgrades, spare parts, and data access for
decades.
Energy tells a similar story. After cutting Russian gas imports by roughly
75% between 2021 and 2025, Europe replaced that supply mainly with
liquefied natural gas from the United States.
By last year, US LNG accounted for about 57% of Europe’s imports. On
current contracts, that share could reach 75% by the end of the decade.
Finance completes the picture. European investors hold more than $10
trillion in US Treasury bonds. These are considered safe assets. They also
tie Europe’s savings to US fiscal and political decisions in a way that is
rarely discussed in public debates.
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Taken together, these links mean that Europe’s exposure is not just
commercial. It is operational. That difference becomes important once
security turns into a negotiating tool rather than a given.
THE REAL PRICE OF STANDING ALONE
Replacing external security support is expensive, but not in the way most
people expect.
The highest costs do not sit in tanks or fighter jets, but in the systems that
make armies usable.
ESTIMATES VARY, BUT A REASONABLE RANGE SUGGESTS THAT
ACCELERATING DEFENSE SPENDING TO 5% OF GDP BY 2030
WOULD REQUIRE ROUGHLY AN EXTRA 0.6% OF GDP EACH YEAR ACROSS
THE CONTINENT.
Replacing intelligence, logistics, satellite communications, and transport
capabilities adds another one to 2% of GDP during the build-up phase.
Extending credible nuclear deterrence beyond the existing national
frameworks adds further pressure.
COMBINED, EUROPE COULD BE LOOKING AT DEFENSE-RELATED
SPENDING INCREASES OF AROUND 3% OF GDP ANNUALLY THROUGH
THE END OF THE DECADE, ON TOP OF PLANS ALREADY IN PLACE.
The European Commission forecasts an aggregate EU budget deficit of
about 3.3% of GDP in 2026.
However, under a more independent defense posture, that figure would
move closer to 6%.
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There are only three ways to fund that gap. Higher taxes reduce private
demand. Larger deficits raise borrowing costs, especially for heavily
indebted countries.
Central bank involvement through joint defence bonds would test longstanding
rules around monetary policy. None of these paths is painless.
Investors should assume that the trade-offs will be visible in bond
spreads and currency markets well before they appear in official
strategies.
WHY MORE MONEY DOES NOT MEAN BETTER DEFENCE
Even with funding, Europe faces a production problem. Military
manufacturing is still organised around national preferences.
France buys French. Germany buys German. The result is low volume,
high cost, and poor interoperability.
Europe produces roughly 50 main battle tanks a year. Russia produces
more than 15,000.
A modern European tank costs several times more than its Russian
equivalent, even allowing for differences in quality and support. This is
all about scale, and Europe does not have it.
Financing is just as fragmented. Defense effort depends on fiscal capacity
and threat perception.
Poland spends close to 5% of its GDP. Spain spends about 2%. Germany
can mobilize hundreds of billions. France cannot. There is no shared
borrowing mechanism to spread costs evenly or quickly.
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Ideas to fix this exist. A COALITION OF WILLING COUNTRIES COULD
ISSUE JOINT DEFENCE DEBT AND PROCURE AT SCALE, FOCUSING ON AIR
DEFENCE, DRONES, CYBER SYSTEMS, AND LOGISTICS WHERE NATIONAL
CHAMPIONS ARE WEAKER.
Such a vehicle could also create a genuine European safe asset. So far,
politics has moved more slowly than markets.
Equity markets rarely wait for institutional reform. European defence
stocks have risen sharply again in early 2026, extending gains that began
after the Ukraine invasion.
The Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defence index rose almost 15% in
January alone. Some individual companies are up more than 30%.
Companies like Saab, Rheinmetall, and BAE Systems have been the main
beneficiaries.
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This rally reflects a simple belief. European defence spending is no longer
a cycle.
It is a long-term commitment driven by politics, geography, and
credibility.
Domestic suppliers benefit first, not because they are cheaper but
because reliance now carries risk.
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There are limits. Valuations assume that governments follow through,
that procurement is pooled rather than fragmented, and that geopolitical
pressure remains high.
Any pause in tension or delay in budgets will show up quickly in prices.
The sector has moved from ignored to crowded in less than three years.
The more interesting signal lies beneath share prices. Capital markets are
adjusting faster than policy frameworks.
Defence is being treated less like discretionary spending and more like
infrastructure. That change in perception will outlast the current
headlines, regardless of how individual disputes are resolved.
The uncomfortable truth is that Europe built its economic model on
outsourced security.
Rebuilding that foundation at home will change budgets, markets, and
politics in ways that are only starting to be understood.
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EU MUST 'MOVE TOWARDS CREATING
EUROPEAN ARMY'
TRUMP’S MOVES ARE PUSHING EUROPE
INTO AN ARMY OF ITS OWN
Donald Trump wanted less U.S. responsibility in Europe. But his own
diplomacy may be doing the opposite — accelerating the creation of a
true European military force.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/eu-must-movetowards-creating-european-army-spanish-fm-tellseuronews/vi-AA1UKP8f
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/trump-s-movesare-pushing-europe-into-an-army-of-its-own/vi-AA1U74Es
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EU DEFENSE HEAD CALLS FOR
PERMANENT 100,000-STRONG BLOC
ARMY
Andrius Kubilius has claimed that a unified military force would reduce
reliance on the US and NATO
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EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius.

THE EU NEEDS TO CREATE A 100,000-STRONG STANDING ARMY TO
MAKE MILITARY DECISIONS INDEPENDENTLY OF THE US AND NATO,
DEFENSE COMMISSIONER ANDRIUS KUBILIUS HAS SAID.
THE BLOC MUST PIVOT AWAY FROM FRAGMENTED NATIONAL ARMIES
TO AN INTEGRATED FORCE, HE TOLD A SECURITY CONFERENCE IN
SWEDEN ON SUNDAY. The suggestion, however, goes against existing EU
rules.
“WE NEED TO GO FOR A ‘BIG BANG’ IN DEFENSE,” the commissioner
said. CITING FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON AND FORMER
GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL, KUBILIUS NOTED: “[THEY]
WERE SPEAKING VERY SIMILAR WORDS TEN YEARS AGO… THAT
EUROPE MUST BE MORE INDEPENDENT AND AUTONOMOUS… AND
EVEN THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A EUROPEAN ARMY… A POWERFUL,
STANDING EUROPEAN MILITARY FORCE OF 100,000 TROOPS.”
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Kubilius also PROPOSED A 10 MEMBER EUROPEAN SECURITY COUNCIL
TO MAKE EU-WIDE DEFENSE DECISIONS, with the UK participating
despite its non-bloc status.
Protocol No.7 to the Treaty of Lisbon – the last of
the “founding” agreements of the bloc – explicitly states that it “does not
provide for the creation of a European army or for conscription to any
military formation.” It also says that Brussels cannot determine the
nature or volume of member states’ defense spending or military
capabilities. Under the treaty, each member state is free to decide
whether it wants to adopt a common defense or not.
However, BRUSSELS HAS BEEN SEEKING TO CURTAIL THE POWER OF
MEMBER STATES, the latest example of which was the vote on Russia’s
frozen central-bank assets. In December, the EU invoked Article 122, an
emergency treaty clause that allows approval by a qualified majority
rather than unanimity, to indefinitely immobilize the roughly $230 billion
in Russian central bank assets held in Belgium. The move drew
condemnation from Hungary, which opposed the decision and accused
the EU of stripping Budapest of its rights.
KUBILIUS SUGGESTED THAT THE CHANGES ARE NECESSARY IN LIGHT OF
THE ALLEGED THREAT POSED BY RUSSIA AND THE US SHIFT IN FOREIGN
POLICY UNDER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP. Russia has dismissed
allegations that it has aggressive intent as “nonsense.”
The bloc “does not have a peaceful agenda. They are on the side of
war,” President Vladimir Putin said last year.
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GREENLAND, IRAN, UKRAINE - AND
NOW, A EUROPEAN ARMY
A European army of 1.4 million soldiers. A command structure
independent of NATO. For decades it was unthinkable — now it’s policy
talk. What changed?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/greenland-iranukraine-and-now-a-european-army/vi-AA1UgyjV
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https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/70918228/the
-white-horseman-2026
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MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN KEY PLAYER
IN REGIONAL PEACE, EU OFFICIAL SAYS
Riyadh: Hana Jalloul Muro, vice-chair of the European Parliament’s
Foreign Affairs Committee, has PRAISED SAUDI ARABIA’S ROLE AS A
“RELIABLE PARTNER” TO THE EU.
Describing THE KINGDOM AS A “KEY INTERNATIONAL ACTOR,” SHE
HIGHLIGHTED ITS PIVOTAL ROLE IN REGIONAL STABILITY, INCLUDING
BROKERING PEACE TALKS ON UKRAINE, PROMOTING PEACE IN
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PALESTINE, AND SUPPORTING STABLE GOVERNMENTS IN LEBANON
AND THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC.
“SAUDI IS A RELIABLE PARTNER BECAUSE IT IS A COUNTRY THAT HAS
DEMONSTRATED THAT WITH VISION 2030, only in the last five, six years,
it has changed impressively. It has a major women’s labor force, a very
low youth unemployment rate and is growing very fast,” Muro told Arab
News.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, she
added: “SAUDI ARABIA IS BECOMING A KEY MAJOR PLAYER IN THE
INTERNATIONAL ARENA NOW — FOR PEACE CONVERSATIONS ON
UKRAINE, SUPPORTING THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT, PAYING SYRIA’S
EXTERNAL DEBT, STABILIZING THE GOVERNMENT IN LEBANON,
PROMOTING PEACE IN GAZA, IN PALESTINE AND PUSHING FOR A
CEASEFIRE, TOO.
“So, I THINK IT IS A VERY KEY INTERNATIONAL ACTOR, VERY IMPORTANT
IN THE REGION FOR STABILITY,” Muro added. Explaining why she
considers the Kingdom a reliable partner, Muro said: “IT’S A COUNTRY
THAT KNOWS HOW TO SEE TO THE EAST AND TO THE WEST.”
Muro also serves as the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Saudi
Arabia, and is responsible for drafting reports on legislative and
budgetary proposals and other key bilateral issues.
IN MID-DECEMBER 2025, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ENDORSED A
ROAD MAP TO ELEVATE EU-SAUDI RELATIONS INTO A FULL-FLEDGED
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP, WHICH SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO THE EU
HAIFA AL-JEDEA DESCRIBED AS “AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE” IN
BILATERAL TIES.
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The report highlighted the possibility of Saudi-EU visa-free travel,
reaffirming the EU’S COMMITMENT TO ADVANCING A SAFE, MUTUALLY
BENEFICIAL VISA-FREE ARRANGEMENT WITH THE FIVE GCC COUNTRIES
TO ENSURE EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE NEW EU VISA STRATEGY.
“One of the key hot topics is the visa waiver to Saudi Arabia, which I
always support,” Muro said. “Saudi Arabia has, as you are aware, been in
cascade for five years, and I think we need to work toward a visa waiver.”
The report also highlighted the economic significance of Saudi tourists to
EU member states, particularly for the hospitality, retail and cultural
sectors, while emphasizing that Saudi citizens do not pose a source of
irregular migration pressure.
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When asked about the status of the visa waiver, Muro said: “The
approval, it is the recommendation to the commission to take into
account its importance. We need to advance on that because WE ARE IN
THE FRAMEWORK OF THIS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT THAT
COVERS MANY TOPICS, so this is why the visa waiver is a central key
issue.”
She added: “I THINK BY NOW WE RECOGNIZE THE INTERNATIONAL ROLE
OF SAUDI ARABIA AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO US AS A NEIGHBOR
— NOT ONLY FOR SECURITY, COUNTER-TERRORISM AND ENERGY, BUT
FOR EVERYTHING. WE NEED TO GET CLOSER TO PARTNERS LIKE THE
GCC, SAUDI SPECIFICALLY.
“AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO TAKE SAUDI ARABIA AS A VERY BIG
ALLY OF OURS,” Muro said. During her time in Riyadh, Muro took part in
a panel at the forum focused on the EU-KSA business and investment
dialogue, and advancing the critical raw materials value chain. On the
sidelines, she met Saudi Vice Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji to
DISCUSS WAYS TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN SAUDI-EU RELATIONS.
She also met Hala Al-Tuwaijri, chairwoman of the SAUDI HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMISSION, SAYING: “I HAVE TO CONGRATULATE YOU AND THE
GOVERNMENT, YOUR COUNTRY, ON DOING A ‘GREAT JOB’.”
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https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/
70896433/chop-chop-square
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EUROPE, UK SHOULD HAVE JOINT
100,000-STRONG MILITARY FORCE
EUROPE’S LONG-RUNNING DISCUSSION ABOUT DEFENCE
INDEPENDENCE IS RESURFACING AMID SHIFTING GLOBAL ALLIANCES.
While the idea is not new, the tone of the latest interventions has
sharpened, reflecting broader uncertainty about Europe’s security
future.
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CALLS FOR REFORM
According to multiple news outlets, including EuroWeekly and Politico,
EU DEFENCE COMMISSIONER ANDRIUS KUBILIUS HAS ARGUED THAT
EUROPE NEEDS A STANDING MILITARY FORCE OF AROUND 100,000
TROOPS IN COOPERATION WITH UK. Speaking at the Folk och Försvar
conference in Sweden on January 11, he presented the idea as A WAY TO
REINFORCE EUROPEAN DEFENCE AND POTENTIALLY SUBSTITUTE FOR
THE AMERICAN MILITARY PRESENCE.
During his speech, Kubilius pointed to doubts over the durability of US
security commitments to Europe. According to his speech, THE
CHANGING STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT REQUIRES EUROPE TO PREPARE
FOR GREATER RESPONSIBILITY. HE OUTLINED THREE PRIORITIES FOR
DEFENCE READINESS: HIGHER INVESTMENT IN INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY,
MORE EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONS, AND THE POLITICAL WILL TO DETER
THREATS OR FIGHT IF REQUIRED.
LINGERING FEARS
THE NOTION OF A PAN-EUROPEAN FORCE continues to stir unease
among parts of the public. For some citizens, the prospect of foreign
European troops operating on national soil evokes uncomfortable
historical memories. Scepticism is also present within EU institutions.
During debates in 2025 and 2026, several MEPs warned that deeper
military integration could weaken national sovereignty.
A DECEMBER 2025 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION URGED
URGENT SECURITY ACTION WHILE REAFFIRMING EU-NATO
COOPERATION AND A “FULLY CAPABLE EUROPEAN PILLAR IN NATO”.
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EUROPE’S $1 TRILLION RACE TO BUILD
BACK ITS DEFENSE INDUSTRY
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President Trump’s overtures about acquiring Greenland are now reviving
questions among the U.S.’s NATO allies over whether Europe can make
enough of its own weapons to fight independently of America.
Defense analysts and lawmakers mainly conclude yes, but not just yet.
THE CONTINENT’S ONCE-SCLEROTIC DEFENSE INDUSTRY IS CHURNING
OUT DRONES, TANKS, AMMUNITION AND OTHER WEAPONRY AT ITS
FASTEST PACE IN DECADES AS THE REGION LOOKS TO REARM IN THE
FACE OF RUSSIAN AGGRESSION and divides with Washington.
But there is still some way to go. The cost of replacing current U.S.
military equipment and personnel in Europe would be around $1 trillion,
according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.
Some holes remain in the region’s manufacturing capability, including
stealth fighters, long-range missiles and satellite intelligence.
While Europe has increased its defense production in recent years, its
fragmented industry currently lacks the capacity of its U.S. peers, which
are financed by the world’s largest military budget.
STILL, SHARP INCREASES IN MILITARY SPENDING ACROSS EUROPE AND
RENEWED EFFORTS IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ARE BRINGING
OPERATIONAL INDEPENDENCE CLOSER—AND IN SOME CASES IT IS
HAPPENING SURPRISINGLY QUICKLY.
In late 2024, Clemens Kürten started a company to sell drones to
European militaries without a design or staff. Within a year the German
company had sold hundreds of units.
There is growing urgency to find a response to what the U.S. intends to
do, not just in Greenland, but with the broader security alliance that has
bound it to Europe since the end of World War II.
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If Americans “will start to diminish their presence on the European
continent…of course, WE NEED TO START TO PLAN HOW WE SHALL
BUILD WHAT WE CAN CALL A EUROPEAN PILLAR OF NATO,” Andrius
Kubilius, the European Union official in charge of revitalizing the defense
industry said Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland.
That includes replacing so-called strategic enablers, like space satellites,
that Europe currently relies on the U.S. for, he said. Trump had already
pushed Europe to spend more on defense. A U.S. increasingly focused on
Latin America and Asia will likely redeploy American assets out of Europe.
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More recently, clashes between the White House and Europe over
Ukraine and now Greenland have raised concerns that the U.S. could cut
off the supply of American weapons and even stop Europeans from using
those they own.
On Wednesday, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said in Davos that
his country’s fleet of U.S.-made fighters can’t fly long-term without U.S.
spare parts and hardware updates. The country must instead trust that
Washington will continue to help them fly, which he said it was in their
interests to do.
INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES SAY THE PIVOT TOWARD A SELF-SUFFICIENT
DEFENSE INDUSTRY IS WELL UNDER WAY.
Kürten, CEO of Twentyfour Industries, said his Munich-based company
was able to start production so quickly because European investors are
now willing to finance defense companies and talent is willing to work
for them, and because local government procurement agencies move
quicker.
“That wouldn’t have been possible five years ago,” said Kürten, who was
a drone consultant when he and a partner founded the company.
THE PROCESS IS BEING LUBRICATED BY THE BIGGEST JUMP IN
EUROPEAN MILITARY SPENDING SINCE THE COLD WAR.
LAST YEAR, EUROPE SPENT AN ESTIMATED $560 BILLION ON DEFENSE,
ACCORDING TO ANALYSTS AT BERNSTEIN, DOUBLE WHAT IT SPENT A
DECADE AGO. BY 2035, ITS SPENDING ON EQUIPMENT WILL BE 80% OF
THE PENTAGON’S, UP FROM LESS THAN 30% IN 2019, BERNSTEIN SAID.
This could have repercussions for the U.S. defense sector if the region
turns to homegrown weaponry. Europe accounts for up to 10% of
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American defense manufacturers’ revenues, according to U.K.-based
research group Agency Partners.
In a sign of what could happen, Germany’s Rheinmetall has opened or is
constructing 16 new factories since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of
Ukraine. Italian defense giant Leonardo has increased its head count by
almost a half to 64,000 people in just over two years.
By spring of last year, MBDA, Europe’s largest missile maker, could make
40 short-range Mistral air-defense missiles a month—up from 10 before
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—and had doubled the production of
antitank missiles to 40 a month.
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Drone manufacturers, such as Twentyfour Industries, have sprung up
across Europe. A global market leader in land drones is the tiny Baltic
nation of Estonia.
IN SOME CASES, EUROPEAN PRODUCTION HAS SURPASSED THE U.S.
Rheinmetall alone will soon be able to produce 1.5 million 155mm
artillery shells a year, more than the combined U.S. defense industry.
Europe almost exclusively supplies its own armored vehicles, with
Germany’s Leopard the world’s most popular tank. The region also makes
all its own ships and submarines, vessels that outsell their U.S. peers
globally.
THERE ARE INDICATIONS THAT SOME EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ARE
ALREADY CHOOSING LOCAL RATHER THAN U.S.-MADE WEAPONS.
Between 2020 and 2024, 79% of Danish defense imports came from the
U.S. Last year, as Trump ramped up pressure on Denmark to sell
Greenland, over half of Denmark’s weapon purchases came from Europe.
Copenhagen has denied this is deliberate.
Still, A WATERSHED MOMENT WHERE EUROPE MOVES AWAY FROM THE
U.S. HASN’T HAPPENED YET, said Pieter Wezeman, whose think tank, the
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, analyzes data on
military spending.
SOME EUROPEAN DEFENSE OFFICIALS SAY EUROPEAN DEFENSE
COMPANIES AREN’T MOVING FAST ENOUGH, PARTICULARLY IN
AEROSPACE.
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France’s Dassault has a backlog of 220 Rafale jet fighters to make. Last
year, it was delivering two a month, with each aircraft taking three years
to make; deliveries will go up to three a month this year, the company
says.
The fact that Poland buys arms from South Korea shows that EUROPE,
ALONG WITH THE U.S., ISN’T RAMPING UP DEFENSE PRODUCTION AS
FAST AS NEEDED, Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of NATO, said at
Davos on Wednesday.
Roberto Cingolani, chief executive of Leonardo, which makes military
helicopters, radar systems and other military components, said that a
barrier to speedy European rearmament is fragmentation.
“Every country wants to have its own tank, its own aircraft, its own ship,
and of course the dispersion in terms of investment, R&D [and]
procurement does not favor” European rearmament, he said in an
interview.
There are also capability gaps.
Europe is at least 10 years away from a locally produced stealth jet
fighter. Meanwhile many of the 13 European nations that have either
bought or ordered the U.S. F-35 continue to add to their fleets.
Europe lags behind the U.S. on satellite intelligence and is mainly
dependent on U.S. companies for the cloud computing that manages
battlefield data. Despite Germany’s inventing the ballistic missile over 80
years ago, Europe has almost no production of this essential weapon or
other types of very long-range missiles.
America’s long-range missile defense remains the system of choice for
European nations.
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While Ukraine has reduced its dependence on U.S. weaponry, American
air defenses, such as Patriot batteries, are invaluable, and the country
can’t get enough of these system’s interceptors, said Mykola Bielieskov,
an analyst at a Ukrainian NGO called Come Back Alive, which helps fund
weapons procurement for Kyiv.
Some European nations are now trying to address their shortcomings.
Several projects under way are aimed at producing missiles with a range
of over 1,000 miles after 2030, and the U.K. recently established its own
military satellite constellation after being reliant on the U.S. Other
Europeans are sending more into space. French President Emmanuel
Macron recently said that two-thirds of Ukraine’s satellite intelligence
comes now from his country.
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“COULD EUROPE ARM ITSELF? YES, BUT OVER TIME,” said Matthew
Savill, a director at the Royal United Services Institute think tank. “The
volume is not there yet, and we need to accept that in some areas the
stuff is not as good,” he said.
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https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/70889457/10-
horns-equals-10-kings
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