Defence`s Feeds

With the support of the Belgian Air Force, the European Defence Agency (EDA) hosted the 6th Fixed Wing Operations and Training Working Group (FW O&T WG) and the European Air symposium. This event took place on 15th Wing Melsbroek Airbase, Brussels, Belgium, from 28 to 30 May 2024. The first two days were dedicated to tactical air transport stakeholders, ranging from operational units of EU Member States and EU entities. The third day of the European Air Symposium occurred with the involvement of European industry representing air transport and unmanned aircraft systems.

During the first two days, the meeting gathered representatives of EU Member States and EU entities, such as the European Tactical Airlift Centre and the European Air Transport Command. One of the primary outcomes was agreeing on the processes and procedures which will help on information exchange amongst fixed wing users, as well as to stimulate cooperation at the operators’ level. 

Overall, the discussion aimed at supporting optimised access to existing air platforms and developing advanced flight training. The meeting also provided an opportunity for sharing best practices/experiences and lessons learned from operations, and to continue improving collaboration, synergies, and interoperability in the field of air transport among EU Member States.

The final day of the European Air Symposium was dedicated to the European Air Industry. This was a major opportunity for the industry to deliver briefings and update the attendees on the state of play related to tactical air transport capabilities and short-term development. EDA opened the symposium to the UAS industry (Tactical Cargo UAS) which reflects the agency's commitment to promoting awareness among operational units and exploring potential synergies, which will be further explored in future editions. 

 

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Ensuring operational efficiency while safeguarding the environment was the focus of EDA’s largest conference on circular defence. The Incubation Forum for Circular Economy in European Defence (IF CEED) Third General Conference gathered over 170 experts from 23 European countries to further develop transnational initiatives exploiting circularity principles for defence. Participants focused on designing collaborative project ideas and strategies for their implementation. 

The conference, organised under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU2024BE) and in partnership with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), heard how moving forward with collaborative projects was now key to reduce the environmental impact of the armed forces while bringing operational benefits to military operations. 

In his speech, EDA Chief Executive, Jiří Šedivý, said, “IF CEED plays a crucial role in advancing circularity in defence, striving to produce tangible collaborative outcomes. It has consistently aimed at win-win outcomes that would benefit both the EU’s operational defence needs and the green transition. EDA has been championing circular economy in defence due to its potential to enhance the operational effectiveness of Member States’ Armed Forces.”

Among others, the Belgian Minister of Defence, Ludivine Dedonder, the Director General of the DG ENV  Florika Fink-Hooijer, the Director General Material Resources and National Armaments Director (NAD) of the Belgian Ministry of Defence Frédéric Goetynck, the NAT Vice-Presidents at the EESC Maria Nikolopoulou and Cillian Lohan, and the Head of Defence Sector, Security and Defence Policy of the European External Action Services, Mariya Dellevska have addressed the audience with their high-level key messages, inter alia on climate change and defence, the implementation of circular economy in defence, environmental remediation in Ukraine, and strategic autonomy as a pillar of the Critical Raw Materials Act.

While the EDA marks 20 years of promoting European Defence cooperation, this working event has gathered the largest defence community engaged in Circular Economy worldwide for both dedicated incubation sessions within the IF CEED “Project Circles” and wider cross-cutting panels among Ministries, industry, research-and-technology organisations, academia, and other private and public bodies/entities.

Using additive manufacturing to support in-mission repair, establishing secure exchange of data via digital passports, developing smart recycling routes for military textiles, streamlining procurement and maintenance processes: these are some of the themes addressed by IF CEED Programme Manager, Prof. Dr. Pierre Di Toro, and the numerous experts in their testimonies. Speakers have highlighted the achievements across IF CEED priority areas and provided key messages for the way forward.

About IF CEED 

EDA’s 3rd Annual General Conference of the Incubation Forum for Circular Economy in European Defence (IF CEED), the EU programme co-funded by the European Commission’s DG Environment (DG ENV) under the EU LIFE 2021-2027. The conference has benefited of the collaboration with the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) - a joint initiative of the EESC and the DG ENV - and the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD).

 

• For further information on IF CEED: IF CEED (europa.eu)
• For more information on the IF CEED Project Ideas:  Project ideas (europa.eu)

 

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