As the NATO summit ended with a commitment to spend 5% of its GDP on defense, the Bruegel and Kiel Institute report warns that it is not ready to defend Europe by at least 2030, as it relies primarily on foreign production and technology.
“Europe needs to move political debate from fiscal numbers to actual military capabilities purchased and provided over the next few years,” the report said.
Europe currently imports a significant amount of weapons. Imports in EU countries have increased from approximately $3.4 billion (EUR 2.9 billion) for the period 2019-2021 to $8.5 billion (EUR 7.2 billion) for the period 2022-2024.
The United States is a major trading partner for military equipment in both the European Union and major European countries, except for France.
For example, about 70% of non-European purchases from Poland are contracted with US companies, while the rest of the transactions are primarily attacked by Korean companies.
However, the average delivery time for defense equipment manufactured in European countries such as Germany, the UK and Poland can reach four years.
Europe also lacks some top military technology, and development timelines often span decades rather than just a few years.
“The reduction or total lack of technical leads in the war has become increasingly concern across Western military forces and is particularly problematic for Europe,” the report states.
Development of new technologies
New battlefield technologies such as drones and AI could be complementary abilities to combat power.
In Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, drones are currently responsible for 60% to 70% of the damage caused by Russian equipment, according to the Royal United Services Institute, a British defense and security think tank.
For example, the target for first-person view (FPV) drones in Ukraine in 2025 is around 4.5 million, while Russia produces around 4.5 million.
Speaking from The Hague on the eve of the NATO leadership summit, the Ukrainian president said the country’s defense sector can produce much more than it is now, but is being limited by a lack of funding.
“Our defensive production potential is over $35 billion (29 billion euros),” Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the NATO Defense Industry Forum, where more than 1,000 different types of weapons produced domestically, including cannons, armored vehicles, drones and missiles.
“But about 40% of this chance lacks the right amount of funding. That’s a problem. For example, you can produce over 8 million drones each year, but with funding, it’s much less.”
Apart from Ukraine, the European military appears to be further behind this development compared to the US.
While new European startups focusing on drone manufacturing are on the rise, the technology is rapidly evolving, so drones older than six months may already be seeing a significant decline in effectiveness.
Meanwhile, both Russia and China have substantially advanced not only with technological capabilities, but also with production capacity.
Video Editor mert can yilmaz
