European Countries Lag Behind US Defense Capabilities by 3-10 Years.

Europe Lags Behind the US in Defense Industry Development

In certain areas, European countries lag behind the US in the development of the defense industry by three to ten years. This opinion was expressed by Serhiy Zhuravets, director of the information and consulting company Defense Express, co-founder of the Defense Information Consortium.

'We are talking about a lag of three, five, and even ten years behind American manufacturers in basic things. Europe is trying to change its approaches to rearmament,' he said.

The implementation of the European Defense White Paper – the 'Rearmament of Europe/Readiness-2030' plan presented by the European Commission on March 19, may change the situation. It outlines the theses about creating a pan-European market for defense equipment.

'It is about a number of areas where they need to strengthen their capabilities (air defense, missile defense, artillery, AI, logistics, etc.), reduce their dependence on the US, and prepare for war with the RF. In particular, to involve Ukraine in this. It is important how they will deal with the 150 billion and 800 billion, how they will allocate them,' Zhuravets explained.

Zhuravets claims that for European countries it will be a challenge to transform the funds into specific projects. Until now, the defense sector was the only area that was not regulated within the EU, and the planned projects are supposed to become pan-European.

'The previous experience of such cooperation was not positive. We hope that the EU will draw conclusions. Moreover, it will take into account Ukraine's experience and realities on the battlefield (we are ready to join),' the expert noted.

According to the expert, soon one can expect assistance in the form of ammunition and armored vehicles. Air defense systems will arrive later, and the production of drones is planned in cooperation with Ukrainian manufacturers.

'The White Paper contains a large block regarding UAVs, and it includes financing for Ukrainian projects, joint production. They don’t want to buy Chinese components either,' Zhuravets said.