After Russia’s invasion, politicians promised to boost military research funding — but policy specialists aren’t convinced that a rapid change lies ahead.
Some time in the next decade, solar-powered European airships might hover 20 kilometres above battlefields, relaying crucial details about the movement of troops below. These extremely high-altitude drones, or pseudo-satellites, haven’t yet taken flight. They’re one of scores of research and development projects supported by the European Defence Fund , a European Union fund that this July announced the winners of its first set of grants, worth €1.2 billion .
“Innovation is key to bolster our defence capabilities,” the European Commission declared in May when announcing an initiative to boost research in the sector. Russia’s invasion has been “a wake-up call”, says Frans Kleyheeg, business director of the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research , an independent applied-science organization in The Hague that conducts defence research.
Three countries account for the bulk of Europe’s defence R&D. France currently spends the most , followed by Germany, according to the European Defence Agency . The United Kingdom, which is no longer in the EU, is the region’s other major funder . But for decades, those countries had reduced their spending as they increasingly relied for their protection on the umbrella of NATO , partnership with the United States and the unlikelihood of war in Europe.
The EU seems most interested in improving synergies between civilian and military funding — to the extent possible — and urging further cooperation between member states. For instance, a defence-innovation hub, created this year, seems mostly to be a networking platform for academics, technologists and the defence industry, housed in the EDA — which itself has a budget of just €38 million for 2022.
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