US firms eye partnerships to tap European defence spending boom
Agencies
Top U.S. defence firms, backed by a strong Congressional delegation from Washington, used this week's Paris Air Show to showcase cutting-edge technologies and court European partners as they seek to tap into rising regional military spending.
Many European nations have pledged to significantly increase defence budgets in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has threatened to scale back military support for the region.
That tension has been notably absent at this week's Paris Air Show, where U.S. lawmakers and arms manufacturers pledged greater transatlantic partnership as Europe ramps up spending on everything from artillery shells and fighter jets to missile defence systems.
'We understand that our allies and partners are a force multiplier, so we are stronger when we are working together,' U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, a member of Trump's Republican party, told reporters at the show, the world's largest aerospace and defence gathering.
Moran, whose delegation was supporting U.S. weapons makers, said it was in Paris to send a message that the U.S. 'is a dependable and reliable partner.'
The conciliatory tone stands in stark contrast to the Trump administration's recent string of disparaging remarks about Europe and its defence industry.
'I think antagonizing our allies does not make us stronger,' Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen told reporters in Paris, expressing her desire to cement defence relations with Europe.
Despite pledges by many European nations to boost military self-sufficiency, the continent remains heavily reliant on U.S. defence manufacturers.
For instance, Europe buys American-made fighter jets and missiles from Lockheed Martin, Patriot missile defence systems from Raytheon Technologies and military jets and helicopters built by Boeing.
In emerging military areas, like artificial intelligence, drones and satellite constellations, U.S. tech firms like Anduril, Palantir and Elon Musk's SpaceX are far ahead.
U.S. firms are hoping to press home their advantage as European military spending surges, including through partnerships, which are a way to soften any potential diplomatic tensions, delegates said.
U.S. drone-maker Anduril and German defence giant Rheinmetall said on Wednesday they will link up to build military drones for European markets, in a sign of Europe leveraging American technology to boost military capabilities.
Thomas Laliberty, president of Land & Air Defence Systems at Raytheon, said there were no easy replacements for its weapons in Europe and he expected the firm to maintain a long-term footprint on the continent, including through new partnerships.
Laliberty said Raytheon was close to announcing a plan to manufacture Stingers – a lightweight air defence missile used by Ukrainian forces against Russia – in Europe.
'For immediate needs, Raytheon is well-positioned to support the European demand,' Laliberty told reporters in Paris.
'We have a very bright future here.' Boeing, which won a contract from Trump's administration to develop the next-generation F-47 fighter jet this year, said Europe and the U.S. would remain long-term partners despite political wobbles, partly to hold off the Chinese threat.
'Nobody can do it themselves – maybe the Chinese can try, but certainly the rest of us, we are going to have to work together,' said Turbo Sjogren, Boeing's general manager for government services.
'To do otherwise takes too long and will be unaffordable.' The chairperson of Italian aerospace and defence group Leonardo, Stefano Pontecorvo, added that U.S. participation in some European programs would be 'unavoidable' in the coming years due to the defence technologies available to them.European rivals were bullish about their future growth prospects but said budget constraints and a lack of regional alliances were holding back progress, conceding that they would continue to need significant U.S. support.
'National sovereignty matters, but fragmentation is detrimental. We need to find a way to hit a balance,' Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani told reporters on Tuesday.
Jean-Brice Dumont, head of air power, defence and space at Airbus, said Europe's dependence on the U.S. was 'very high.' 'Zero dependency on the U.S. I believe, is a dream.
We have a need for interoperability that drives some U.S. needs,' said Dumont, whose firm makes the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet with Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Leonardo, as well as Earth observation satellites and drones.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Europe had 'too much bureaucracy' compared to the U.S. and needed to adapt to a new military era of faster, cheaper and more nimble technology.
'Either Europe adapts its industry to these new parameters – different from those with which it has lived until four years ago – or it will have huge competitors, and not only the American ones,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil released from detention
Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil released from detention NewsFeed Palestinian activist and former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil was released after three months in immigration detention, following a judge's ruling to free him amid growing backlash over Trump's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protests. Video Duration 01 minutes 42 seconds 01:42 Video Duration 00 minutes 42 seconds 00:42 Video Duration 01 minutes 22 seconds 01:22 Video Duration 00 minutes 33 seconds 00:33 Video Duration 01 minutes 32 seconds 01:32 Video Duration 00 minutes 22 seconds 00:22 Video Duration 00 minutes 31 seconds 00:31
Welcome Qatar
9 hours ago
- Welcome Qatar
To avoid fury of Iranian missile attack on Haifa, Tel Aviv, Israelis seek peace
To avoid fury of Iranian missile attack on Haifa, Tel Aviv, Israelis seek peace | Janta Ka Reporter Iran continued with its retaliatory attacks even on Friday by pounding Israeli cities with more sophisticated weaponry. As Rifat Jawaid explains the solution to the current crisis is to control Benjamin Netanyahu and not allow him to violate international law in the future. The expectation of the European foreign ministers and Donald Trump from Iran is unreasonable as Tehran would never agree to give up its nuclear ambition altogether. Meanwhile, Haifa mayor has come out in the open seeking peace after facing widespread devastation following Iranian missile strikes. Please support independent journalism here 👇🏻
Al Jazeera
11 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Layoff notices delivered to hundreds of Voice of America employees
Layoff notices have been sent to 639 employees of Voice of America (VOA) and the United States agency that oversees it, effectively shutting down the outlet that has provided news to countries around the world since World War II. The notices sent on Friday included employees at VOA's Persian-language service who were suddenly called off administrative leave last week to broadcast reports to Iran following Israel's attack. Three journalists working for the Persian service on Friday, who left their office for a cigarette break, had their badges confiscated and weren't allowed back in, according to one fired employee. In total, some 1,400 people at VOA and the US Agency for Global Media, or 85 percent of its workforce, have lost their jobs since March, said Kari Lake, Trump's senior adviser to the agency. She said it was part of a 'long overdue effort to dismantle a bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy'. 'For decades, American taxpayers have been forced to bankroll an agency that's been riddled with dysfunction, bias and waste,' Lake said in a news release. 'That ends now.' VOA began by broadcasting stories about US democracy to residents of Nazi Germany, and grew to deliver news around the world in dozens of languages, often in countries without a tradition of free press. But President Donald Trump has fought against the news media on several fronts, with the complaint that much of what they produce is biased against conservatives. That includes a proposal to shut off federal funding to PBS and NPR, which is currently before Congress. 'Death' of independent journalism Most VOA employees have been on administrative leave since March 15, their broadcasts and social media posts mostly silenced. Three VOA employees who are fighting the administration's dismantling of VOA in court were among those receiving layoff notices on Friday. 'It spells the death of 83 years of independent journalism that upholds US ideals of democracy and freedom around the world,' plaintiffs Jessica Jerreat, Kate Neeper and Patsy Widakuswara said in a statement. The Persian-language employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing legal case, was in the office Friday when colleagues were barred from re-entry. The person was afraid to leave for the same reason – even though authorities said their work had been halted – until receiving a layoff notice. Steve Herman, VOA's chief national correspondent who was in the process of retiring to take a job at the University of Mississippi, called the layoffs an 'historic act of self-sabotage with the US government completing the silencing of its most effective soft-power weapon'. It's not clear what, if anything, will replace VOA's programming worldwide. The Trump-supporting One American News Network has offered to allow its signal to be used. Although plaintiffs in the lawsuit called on Congress to continue supporting VOA, Herman said that he is not optimistic that it will survive, even if a Democratic president and Congress take over. For one thing, every day it is off the air is another day for viewers and readers to get into another habit for obtaining news. 'I believe that the destruction is permanent,' Herman said, 'because we see no indication in the next fiscal year that Congress will rally to fund VOA.' By the time another administration takes power that is more sympathetic to the outlet, 'I fear that VOA will have become forgotten,' he said.
