2nd European Air and Missile Defence Conference: still a lot to do to improve European Air Defence capacity
On September 16 and 17, the 2nd European Air and Missile Defence Conference was held at the Italian Air Force HQ in Rome with a large participation of delegations from all European NATO and partner nations, scholars, experts and representatives of the defence industry. Numerous hurdles must still be overcome to bring the European Air Defence to the level required by current geopolitical scenarios
The Rome meeting saw the participation of qualified political representatives, such as the Italian and French defence ministers, Guido Crosetto and Sebastien Lecornu (the Polish peer Piotr Pacholsky, also scheduled to be present, was held back by other commitments).
The latest developments in the international scenario such as in Ukraine and MENA, have given renewed impetus to air those defence issues that emerged in the first conference, held in Paris in 2021, and added new ones, underlining that much remains to be done: from the financial tool to the compatibility between European Union (EU) and NATO needs, industrial cooperation capable of providing systems facing a growing and constantly evolving threat, timely and in sufficient quantities. But the core of the conference was when, in the presence of the press (the rest of it took part behind closed doors), the two ministers took the floor.
Crosetto wondered how many European nations could have faced, as Israel did, the massive attack of missiles and drones launched by Iran on April 13, none according to him. This attack is a further push to proceed on the path undertaken, which faces silent and insidious obstacles, such as bureaucratic barriers that slow down everything, something that does not exist in Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Italy, Crosetto announced, will send another SAMP-T unit to Ukraine in October, and it aims to buy 10 SAMP-T NG systems. Crosetto stressed that costs and financial difficulties are not mere expenses, but investments, because without security there will be no development.
Lecornu’s intervention was equally problematic as he underlined the difficulties that Europe, France and Italy face in the improvement of their defensive capacity. Among the points underlined by the French minister, in addition to the announcement that tests for the SAMP-T NG will begin in October, is that Paris intends to acquire 20 fire units by 2035. Lecornu reviewed French initiatives, challenges and successes, such as the new MICA and ASTER missiles, as well as the Mirage 2000-5F for Ukraine. In particular, the French official appreciated the call for an Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) for nuclear launch sites to protect the national deterrent, that emerged during the conference.
Common to the Italian and French defence chiefs is that the clear perception of the strategic reorientation of the USA towards the Indo-Pacific, will force EU and NATO to face new political, industrial, financial and organizational challenges.
File photo courtesy MBDA
