— NATO defense ministers convene in Brussels today to talk Ukraine, but the Middle East is getting in the way.
— Germany plans to expand its Sky Shield alliance today with new countries signing up to the common air defense plan.
— The CEO of shipbuilding giant Fincantieri is buzzing at the prospect of a European aircraft carrier project.
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NATO MINISTERIAL: Alliance defense ministers gather in Brussels today for the first of three meetings. Military aid to Kyiv tops the formal agenda which runs into Thursday, but Israel is looming.
Stuart and the team look at how the alliance will try to cater to both allies here.
In as an equal: Kicking off is the first ministerial of the NATO-Ukraine Council. “Ukraine will actually sit in that meeting as an equal with NATO allies to work on a variety of issues,” said Julianne Smith, the U.S. NATO ambassador, adding the agenda would cover everything from cyber defense to Kyiv’s prospective NATO membership.
Dutch focus: Kajsa Ollongren, the Dutch defense minister, told Morning Defense that ministers will discuss Ukraine’s fresh short-term needs, including air defense systems ahead of Russia’s likely winter attacks. On ammunition, she said the Netherlands is working with Germany to ensure a “large-scale” supply to Kyiv.
What about Sweden? Don’t forget that Sweden’s membership still hasn’t been ratified by Turkey and Hungary. The Brits certainly want swift progress. More on that here.
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NATO: Defense ministers head into NATO headquarters around 8:20 a.m. We’ll hear from Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on his way in and then at a more formal press conference around 6:30 p.m.
FRANCE: Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu meets with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh this evening. He’s also before the Senate’s foreign affairs and defense committee at 4.30 p.m.; land army boss Pierre Schill will be at the National Assembly at 9 a.m. Both hearings will focus on the 2024 defense budget.
More on France’s military spending from Laura here.
**A message from ASD: In a world of increasing insecurity, suitably sized and equipped armed forces are the best insurance against military aggression. The European defence industry is the key provider of state-of-the-art equipment for our soldiers. Its very existence enhances the credibility of our defence. Find out how.**
EUROPEAN SKY SHIELD INITIATIVE: On the sidelines of the NATO meeting today, more allies are expected to formally commit to the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), a German-led plan to jointly procure air-defense systems. The plan launched a year ago, and has 19 interested countries.
Counting on your support: We hear at least three will officially sign on, with the announcement set for 6:20 p.m.
Paris pushback: France — which is not a member of the initiative — isn’t keen as the scheme benefits mostly U.S. and Israeli companies, which Paris feels undermines its strategic autonomy effort. While the signing ceremony is a blow for Paris, France will carefully look at how many capitals are committing to a memorandum of understanding or just expressing interest.
EYES IN THE SKY: The Finnish military conducted a surveillance flight over Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia as part of a joint NATO effort.
BRETON’S AIRCRAFT CARRIER DREAM: Thierry Breton, the European Commission’s defense czar, wants to develop a European aircraft carrier and missile defense shield. Here’s Breton’s pitch.
Keep ’em coming: Industry loves the idea. “Conceptually we have all the ingredients,” Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Italy-based shipbuilding titan Fincantieri, told us. “Mr Breton put forward a very ambitious and emblematic target that makes sense in every respect.”
Working together: Fincantieri’s joint venture with France’s Naval Group called Naviris, offers a template for any future collaboration on an aircraft carrier, the CEO said. Naviris is developing the European Patrol Corvette, a scheme also briefly mentioned by Breton in his speech and an example of a joint maritime project. “We are envisioning a ship that can be employed by numerous navies,” Folgiero said. “It will be modular, flexible and able to integrate new concepts at a later life stage, without the need for a new platform design.”
In the distance: Folgiero wouldn’t be drawn on any timeline for the carrier, he simply insisted that “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
BALTIC SEA PIPELINE INTRIGUE: Finland’s president is blaming “external activity” for a leak from a Finnish-Estonian gas pipeline — all eyes on Russia. Both countries are investigating, with NATO waiting in the wings to assist. More here.
TAKEAWAYS FROM BRUSSELS DEFENSE BASH: On Tuesday, the defense sector’s top brass — ranging from CEOs to ministers and ambassadors — gathered in the EU capital for the third European Defence and Security Conference.
Here are the key takeaways from Laura who was on the ground:
More from Breton: The commissioner was keen to push for some long-term defense thinking in the EU’s next budget. “Even a war at our doorstep has not led us yet to significantly break with the past and understand that we must more systematically act together to obtain results,” he said. “We must produce more and faster, and not depend on others.”
Looking beyond 2025: As the EU’s main procurement instruments — ASAP and EDIRPA — come to an end in 2025, there’s pressure on the bloc to think of long-term solutions to ensure the money flow doesn’t suddenly stop. “We need to make sure there isn’t a gap between the multi-annual financial frameworks,” said François Arbault, a director for defense industry at the European Commission’s DG DEFIS, referring to the 2021-2027 EU budget. The Commission’s upcoming European defense investment program (EDIP) could be a first step to avoid a “defense shut down” in 2025, as Breton called it.
More on ESG in November: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria were also discussed. “We’re working on a statement for the next defense ministers meeting in November,” said Jiří Šedivý, the European Defence Agency’s chief executive. Stay tuned.
Don’t focus only on big countries: EU defense cash should benefit the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB) as a whole — not only a few giants in a handful of countries — as well as strengthen supply chains, Bulgarian Defense Minister Todor Tagarev told the audience.
Buying European means having control: Being locally made allows for flexibility, MBDA CEO Éric Béranger said. He used the example of his company’s SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles, which are currently being launched from a wider array of aviation platforms than under the original design. “We had the authority of design to make the changes,” he said. Subtext: Buying American will limit what governments can do with the weapons.
Long road ahead: “We’ve made huge progress in the past 18 months but there’s still a lot to do to strengthen our EDTIB,” said Charles Fries, the EU’s External Action Service’s deputy secretary-general for security and defense. A similar thought came from Nexter CEO Nicolas Chamussy, who warned that current events “must not overshadow” the need to prepare for the war of the future, with next-generation tanks and artillery.
MORE 155MM SHELLS FOR UKRAINE: German defense firm Rheinmetall has another artillery ammunition order on the books, this time for “over a hundred thousand 155mm shells” from Rheinmetall Expal Munitions, the group’s new Spanish subsidiary, as well as “additional” DM 121 high-explosive rounds.
Waiting for ammunition: While the German government is paying the bill — all “mid-three-digit” million euros — the entirety of this ammunition order is destined for Ukraine. A vague “tens of thousands” of rounds will arrive this year, with the remainder in 2024.
NAMMO’S WARNING: In an interview with Breaking Defense, Morten Brandtaeg. the CEO of Norwegian ammunition company Nammo, urged European governments to sign longer term 10-to-15-year contracts to ensure businesses can properly plan their investments. “We have to make good profits so we can continue to spend money on the next versions of artillery rounds,” he said.
LESSONS LEARNED: Our U.S. colleagues write that the hottest topic at the Association of the U.S. Army’s ongoing annual meeting in Washington is learning from Ukraine. Given the fact that Ukraine and Russia are trading mountains of artillery shells, the situation is making its mark on the Army’s forthcoming conventional fires strategy, due by the end of the year.
UK AID FOR UKRAINE: A new £100 million package of support will include equipment to clear minefields, as well as another contract for MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin systems anti-drone systems and radars.
THANKS TO GERMANY: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his pledge to deliver more weapons, including an extra Patriot missile battery. “As winter approaches, this is exactly the support we need,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
TWO TOP POLISH GENERALS QUIT: Two of Poland’s most senior generals — Rajmund Andrzejczak, chief of the general staff, and Tomasz Piotrowski, operational commander of the armed forces — have resigned, sparking opposition outrage ahead of Sunday’s election.
More here.
MIDDLE EAST: Israel and the West reckon with a high-tech failure, our U.S. colleagues write.
THANKS TO: Jan Cienski and Zoya Sheftalovich.
**A message from ASD: To fulfil their mission, our armed forces need the right equipment in sufficient numbers. Defence equipment can also be purchased outside Europe. But there are several strategic reasons to sustain in Europe a strong defence industrial base to support our governments and armed forces: 1) To ensure full access to, control over, and understanding of the equipment, which allow to tailor equipment to European militaries’ specific needs; 2) To provide our armed forces with freedom to operate their equipment as they need and European governments with the freedom to export or transfer such equipment; and 3) To maximise security of supply, since European companies are not subject to evolving foreign policy considerations of third states and less exposed to disruption of global supply chains. Read more.**
