EU Member Countries Agree To Cooperate To Develop Air Defense To Electronic War
JAKARTA - A group of European countries agreed on Tuesday to work together to develop missile defenses, electronic warfare and other military assets, as part of efforts to encourage closer defense cooperation between national governments.
Many European countries have stepped up defense spending in recent years, driven by Russia's war in Ukraine and fears the United States will cut its commitment to protecting the continent, particularly in the future under elected president Donald Trump, who is critical of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
However, top EU officials said the continent should also change how to spend its money on defense, urging countries to unite to develop and buy weapons to get better value and reduce fragmentation in the European defense market.
Under the four schemes announced by the European Union's European Defense Agency (EDA), the state group has signed a so-called statement letter to develop air and missile defenses, electronic warfare, flying ammunition and European Combat Ships.
"National efforts, although indispensable, are not enough," EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
"The geopolitical landscape makes our cooperation, in addition to increasing spending, it is important to prepare for high-intensity warfare," he continued.
The EDA said 18 countries ranging from Germany, France, Italy to Cyprus and Luxembourg signed up to cooperate in air defense. Seventeen countries will cooperate in the tournaments, 14 countries in electronic warfare and seven countries in combat ships.
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The electronic war, which is used to disrupt weapons signals such as unmanned aircraft and tournaments, which are floating above the target, has emerged as the main technology in the war in Ukraine.
EDA did not provide financial value to the four initiatives or mention the names of companies that might be involved.
"The scope of this statement letter ranges from short-term joint procurement, through modernization and medium-term improvement, to the development of long-term future capabilities," he said.