FT: Europe Develops Its Own ‘Iron Dome’
- 20.03.2024, 10:34
Weapon manufacturers agree on how to overcome the challenges for air defence systems.
Armin Papperger, Rheinmetall AG's Chief Executive Officer, Europe's largest munitions manufacturer, said EU leaders should consider installing short-range air defence systems like Israel's Iron Dome.
According to the Financial Times, this statement came at a time when EU capitals are increasing military spending. Papperger said that short-range air defence is “something that needs to be created in Europe.”
“I also think it's a good idea to have a European solution similar to Iron Dome and beyond,” he said.
The Iron Dome has a range of up to 70 km and has been used by Israel since 2011 to intercept short-range missiles. Analysts say that such a system cannot protect large areas of continental Europe.
Another EU defence official said that Europe already has “all the capabilities to create a full level of air defence.”
At the end of 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the European Sky Shield initiative, which he called a way to create a European air and missile defence system through the joint purchase of equipment.
21 countries joined the initiative. This angered France, whose officials consider the strategy confusing and ill-conceived, as it lacks European-made air defense systems, including the Franco-Italian SAMP/T от MBDA.
In February, Rheinmetall sold its Skyranger 30 short-range air defence system, which can be used against drones, to the German Armed Forces for 600 million euros.
The development of more integrated European air and missile defence systems is a priority for Brussels.
The EU defence strategy calls for “capabilities related to integrated European air and missile defence” by 2035, and a new industrial proposal presented by the European Commission this month calls for budgetary support for “European defence projects of common interest”.
Integrated air and missile defence systems are one of the 22 priorities of the EU defence capabilities. Brussels insisted that member countries develop “fully interoperable next-generation air defence capabilities” that work with existing NATO systems.
“The EU is also working on a new defence strategy that aims to strengthen joint procurement and for the first time sets procurement targets from producers in the bloc, unlike the US. Defence industry execs also called for increased cooperation and partnerships between the companies to reduce duplication and strengthen Europe's industrial base in the long term,” the newspaper writes.
Roberto Cingolani, Leonardo CEO, the aerospace and defence group, said “everyone is talking to each other.”
“We are trying to discuss possible ways and more convenient solutions between companies to help protect the future of European citizens,” he said.