EDA News

Joint efforts by the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) to support dual-use small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) led to a first concrete result this week (27 June) when a Dutch SME named IC3D Media, which had been put forward by EEN, was allowed to participate in the EDA’s expert cell (CapTech) dedicated to ‘System of systems, Battlelab and Modelling & Simulation’.

It was the first time that a dual-use SME recommended to the EDA by the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) was offered this opportunity. The CapTech meeting allowed the company in question, which develops gaming techniques for training of police agents and soldiers, to showcase its innovative products and know-how, as well as to discuss potential collaborations, synergies and future contract opportunities with the EDA’s participating Member States and their stakeholders. As a next step, IC3D Media could also participate to the EDA’s Modelling & Simulation platform which offers a virtual meeting room for SMEs active in this particular domain.

The fact that this Dutch SME, with the support of the Enterprise Europe Network, was given the possibility to access the EDA CapTech demonstrates that the cooperation between the EDA and the EEN works effectively and that it can yield practical results; it also shows the way to follow by other SMEs.

EEN is a network coordinated by the European Commission’s DG GROWTH (and co-supported by the EU COSME programme) providing SMEs with a wide range of free-of-charge services delivered by several hundreds of local points of contact in native language.

In a recent ‘Assessment of defence-related SME access to the COSME Programme’, the EDA explored several opportunities for the defence sector within the EU Programme COSME (Competitiveness of SMEs) 2014-2020. As a result of this study, defence-related SMEs and clusters can access the newly created EDA’s ‘COSME web-platform’.

 

More information:

• EDA’s support to access EU funding for the defence sector
• EDA’s support to defence-related SMEs
• EDA’s COSME web-Platform
• EDA’s CapTechs

 

On 21 June, EDA top management and experts met for the first time with the newly selected SME Senior Advisers, Mr Francisco González Mené and Mr Dušan Švarc. The advisers’ role is to counsel the Agency regarding future activities and identify new potential ideas and concrete initiatives in support of the defence-related SMEs.

Following a call for expression of interest for two SME Senior Advisers, 10 Member States proposed 15 candidates with impressive professional track record. Mr Francisco González Mené and Mr Dušan Švarc have been selected. Their mandate, based on EDA rules for external experts, will include the assessment of ongoing EDA initiatives and the provision of strategic advice and support on policies and actions regarding defence-related SMEs.

 

More information:

• CV of Mr Francisco González Mené
• CV of Mr Dušan Švarc

The European Defence Agency has recently published a web platform with information on opportunities of the EU COSME Programme for dual-use or defence-related SMEs.

COSME is the EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs, running from 2014 to 2020, with a budget of € 2.3billion. COSME aims at supporting SMEs in the following areas: facilitating access to finance; supporting internationalisation and access to markets; creating an environment favourable to competitiveness; and encouraging an entrepreneurial culture.

The programmes provides SMEs with access to:

• finance, i.e. long-term loans (backed by EU guarantees) and risk-capital/equity investments;
• a wide range of free-of-charge services.

Among other things, EDA’s COSME platform provides dual-use and defence-related SMEs with a dynamic and user-friendly mapping to identify their closest COSME’s financial intermediary (e.g., banks, equity fund) and their local free-service point of contact, in native language (from the Enterprise Europe Network - EEN).

COSME also provides grants for cross-border cluster partnerships. EDA’s platform highlights defence-related clusters, potentially eligible to access COSME grants, to partner with in order to apply for above funding opportunity.

 

More information:

• The EDA COSME platform is available at www.eda.europa.eu/cosme.

More than 100 military and civil representatives from Member States, European institutions, international organisations as well as industry are gathering this week (21/22 June) in Brussels for a Deploy Capabilities Symposium organised by the European Defence Agency (EDA) under the auspices of the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 

The aim of the event is to raise awareness about this fundamental capability and to discuss ways towards a better coordinated EU deploy strategy and improved European capabilities in this domain.

Deployment capabilities are crucial for any mission/operation because they have to enable the effective, timely, safe and integrated transportation of military troops and assets. Because of its multi-dimensional nature (land, sea, air), deploy is characterized by extremely high operational costs, long lasting administrative procedures and vulnerability of transport assets. These elements pose enormous challenges to Member States in their efforts to provide contributions for CSDP operations; the need for coordinated movement and transportation plans and optimization of transportation resources is thus of paramount importance.  Recent CSDP operations have demonstrated that the lack of an adequate level of deploy capabilities may seriously endanger not only the setting up but also the execution of the operation, including the re-deployment phases.

Jorge Domecq, the EDA’s Chief Executive, opened the symposium on Tuesday by recalling that deployability is a priority action in the Agency’s Capability Development Plan (CDP) and that several projects designed to enhance Member States’ capabilities are underway, including the European Air Transport Fleet programme as well as other projects related, for instance, to the setting up of EU multimodal transport hubs and multinational modular medical units or the sharing of spare parts.

Nevertheless, more needs to be done to further foster Europe’s deployment capabilities, Mr Domecq underlined. “They must be recognised and supported by an appropriate level of resource planning and strong political backing”, he said.  Mr Domecq called on Member States to show “commitment to working together, to identifying new opportunities for pooling and sharing and to bringing added value in terms of operational effectiveness, cost reduction and long term availability of assets”.
  

Consultation forum and EU deployment strategy

The EDA Chief Executive also urged EU decision-makers to consider the idea of establishing a regular consultation forum to discuss and shape a pragmatic and sustainable EU strategy on deploy capabilities for CSDP. “Such a high-level consultation forum, as well as a consolidated strategy for deploy capabilities, are still missing”, Mr Domecq regretted.

Deployment cooperation with NATO has progressed in the last few months, he said, adding: “I remain determined to develop this collaboration further, with the aim of exploring possible synergies and complementarity in order to avoid unnecessary duplication whilst optimizing the best use of scarce resources. A stronger Europe makes for a stronger and more credible NATO. This also applies equally to deployability”.
 

Deployment capabilities are “essential” for implementing EU Global Strategy

In his welcome address, Major General Eric Schevenhoven of The Netherlands said that deployment, i.e. the ability to get military capabilities to where they are needed, was an “essential element” for the implementation of the upcoming EU Global Strategy. “As we speak, the new EU Global Strategy is nearing completion. After that, the follow-on discussion will start on how to implement the strategy. We have to think about scenarios, about which capabilities are needed and about how to overcome the shortfalls together. Deployment capabilities play an important part in this discussion. They are needed to make the EU Global Strategy viable”, he stated.
 

More information:

• Logistic Precision Air Delivery (EDA project page)

• Operations Support (EDA project page)

• Sharing of Spare Parts (EDA project page)

• European Air Transport Fleet (EDA project page)

• EU Multimodal Transport Hubs (EDA project page)

The European Defence Agency (EDA) has just published the national defence data of the 27 EDA Member States for the years 2014-2015 (est.) - for the total defence expenditure and derived indicators, and for the years 2013-2014 – for all other indicators.

All data are provided by the Ministries of Defence of the EDA Member States, based on the list of indicators approved by the Agency’s Ministerial Steering Board in 2007. All financial indicators refer to actual expenditure, except 2015 total defence expenditure which is provisional:

• Total Defence Expenditure: illustrates how defence budgets relate to GDP, overall government spending, and population.
• Defence Personnel: shows the ratio between military and civilian personnel, as well as the difference between defence expenditure and investment per military.
• Defence Expenditure Breakdown: provides data on the major defence expenditure categories - personnel; investment, including research and development (R&D)/ research and technology (R&T); operation and maintenance (O&M) and others – to show what defence budgets are spent on.
• Collaborative Expenditure: for defence equipment procurement and R&T, demonstrates to what extent the EDA Member States are investing together.
• Deployability: shows the ratio between the military deployed in crisis management operations and the remaining military personnel, and provides data on sustainable and deployable (land) forces, as well as on the costs of deployed operations.

 

More information:

• Download the data here: EDA National Defence Data 2013-2014 (2015 est)
• Defence data 2014 booklet
• Defence data portal

The European Defence Agency (EDA) is developing its cooperation with CSDP civilian Missions in the field of Satellite Communications (Satcom). 

Since early June, the civilian Mission EUCAP SAHEL Mali in Bamako which aims at supporting the internal security forces in the country, is taking advantage of a Framework Contract established between Airbus Defence and Space and the EDA to cover its requirement for SatCom services.

In concrete terms, this allows the Mission to benefit from a strategic satellite link between Mali and Europe. The services provided by Airbus Defence and Space include the rental, shipping, and installation of a C-band remote satellite communications terminal in Bamako, high data rate satellite bandwidth and anchoring in Europe. The services also include training of Mission personnel, 24/7 technical support and on site-intervention if required. In addition, the Mission is also provided with mobile satellite services to include e.g. a number of satellite phone subscriptions to cover the communication needs for Mission personnel moving around in the country.

EDA’s Chief Executive, Jorge Domecq, welcomed this first use of EDA EU SatCom Market contract by a civilian CSDP Mission as “a concrete example of how the European Defence Agency and CSDP civilian missions can develop cooperation to make best use of resources”. Mr Domecq also said he was confident that other EU entities will make use of the extensive support the Agency can provide in this domain, thus further increasing the pooling effect and reducing costs for the benefit of all EU SatCom Market members.

CSDP civilian Missions EUCAP SAHEL Niger and EUAM Ukraine have also ordered similar services to be provided in their theatres of operation.

Fruitful cooperation

The establishment of this satellite link is the result of extensive discussions to develop cooperation between the Agency and the relevant services in the European External Action Service (EEAS), especially the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) directorate and the Service for Foreign Policy Instrument (FPI).

The EEAS Civilian Operations Commander, Kenneth Deane, stated: “I very much welcome the possibility offered to civilian CSDP Missions to make use of the services provided through the EU SatCom Market Project. I am confident this will ensure best value for money and effectively help deployment and development of the CSDP civilian Missions in line with the relevant conclusions of the European Council.”

The head of the EUCAP SAHEL Mali mission, Albrecht Conze (Germany), said he was “very happy about the fact that, thanks to the hard and dedicated work done by Mission CIS experts, the EDA and the contractor Airbus Defence & Space, the Mission now has a stable strategic SatCom link to Europe as well as all the other satellite communication services the mission needs.”

EUCAP SAHEL Mali

The EUCAP SAHEL Mali civilian Mission, launched on 15 January 2015 at the invitation of the Malian government, is an important element of the regional approach taken in the European Union strategy for security and development in the Sahel.

In addition to the action already taken in Mali by the EUTM Mission providing support to the Malian armed forces and by the European Union Delegation, and in connection with EUCAP SAHEL Niger, the EUCAP SAHEL Mali Mission is helping the Malian government with the reform of its internal security forces (ISF) to enable them to provide more security and justice for Malians.

EUCAP Sahel Mali is dedicated to supporting the Malian authorities' commitment to restructuring their defence and security forces.

EU SatCom Market

Within the EU SatCom Market project, the EDA acts as the central purchasing body on behalf of the contributing members. It purchases the services from a commercial provider. The project uses a ‘pay-per-use’ model, so members do not have to contribute with regular fees; instead they only pay for what they order. Since May 2013, 38 orders have been passed for a total value of over €6.2 million with more orders planned. Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, Portugal, Romania, the United Kingdom, Serbia, the Athena Mechanism, EUCAP SAHEL Niger, EUCAP SAHEL Mali, EUAM Ukraine, EUCAP NESTOR in Somalia and EUMM Georgia are the 18 members of the project.

More information:

• News “EDA provides satellite communications services for EUTM Somalia” (13 October, 2015)
• EU SatCom Market project page

The 8th edition of the Personnel Recovery Controller and Planner Course (PRCPC), a project initiated by the European Defence Agency (EDA), took place from 30 May to 10 June 2016 in Veszprém, Hungary. 

Organised and hosted by the Hungarian Defence Forces at the Air Command and Control Centre (ACCC), the exercise gathered 20 students from six European countries: Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Sweden. The course was delivered by experienced instructors from Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

The course enabled students to be better prepared to plan and execute Personnel Recovery (PR) missions. Personnel Recovery is usually defined as the sum of diplomatic, military and civil efforts to effect the recovery and reintegration of isolated personnel. 

From feedback we know that all participants gained expertise and knowledge from this multi-national training opportunity. As a result, European PR capabilities were strengthened and the number of trained personnel available to support future operations and missions was boosted. 

During the course, the EDA’s Personnel Recovery Functional Area Service Advanced Technology Demonstrator (PR FAS ATD) was presented to the participants. This system is designed to provide headquarters-level PR staff with a planning tool to manage PR missions. It has been developed as part of EDA’s work to improve interoperability between European armed forces in this field.

The next EU PRCPC will take place from 21 November to 2 December 2016 in Italy (Poggio, Renatico) and will be organised by the European Personnel Recovery Centre (EPRC). 

Background

The EDA PRCPC project was established on 30 May 2013 as an EDA Category B project, under the lead of Sweden. As of today, it gathers six contributing EU Member States (cMS): Austria, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and Sweden. On 31st May 2015 the cMS agreed to extend the PRCPC Cat B project until 30 May 2017 as they had an ongoing training requirement. The EPRC is a potential candidate for the continuation of the project. 

 

More information:

• 7th edition of Personnel Recovery course (April 2016)

 

On 16 June, the European Parliament subcommittee on security and defence (SEDE) held an exchange of views on the EU-NATO capability development cooperation with Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency, and General Denis Mercier, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. The NATO-EU Capability Group was established in May 2003 to address common capability shortfalls and to ensure the coherence and mutual reinforcement of NATO and EU capability development efforts.

Jorge Domecq highlighted in his speech the partnership between the EU and NATO, “Twenty two EU Members are Allies. We need to ensure that the differences in membership do not become more significant than the similarities. There is a need to continue our close dialogue to ensure complementarity of work. Due to our single set of forces, we cannot afford unnecessary duplication – especially in the field of programmes.” Mr Domecq furthermore stressed the significant strategic overlap between the two organisations, especially regarding crisis management, conflict prevention and peacekeeping. However, while complementarity was important, the EU needed sufficient freedom of action in defence. “That is why EU Member States should support initiatives in EDA to support the development of capabilities to face the whole spectrum of challenges we face in the changing security environment, including the protection of EU citizens.”  

General Mercier stressed in his intervention that cooperation between NATO and the EU was "no longer a question of choice, but a question of will", and continued, "I believe we have no other choice but to leverage the competencies of each organisation and make the most of limited resources." Regarding cooperation with the EDA, General Mercier noted that closer collaboration could bring tangible proposals: "I can assure you that ACT and EDA have already started working together and intend to deliver practical areas of cooperation in the coming months." General Mercier concluded his intervention considering "The collaboration of our two entities could also help synchronise national innovation efforts, including those developed in the United States, in order to keep the highest level of interoperability in the future."

 

More information:

• SEDE website
• EDA CE Intervention to SEDE - 16 June 2016

End of May, helicopter crews and military staff dealing with Composite Air Operations (COMAO) from across Europe met for an EDA-led Planning Course at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, United Kingdom. During a full week, participants went through complex mission planning exercises within a contested air and land scenario, led by the Chief Instructor, Sqn Ldr Mike Gallagher.

Composite Air Operations are interrelated and/or limited in both time and space, where units differing in type and/or role are put under unified control to achieve a common objective.

The need for organising the COMAO course arose from lessons identified during the previous Helicopter Tactics Instructors Course (HTIC) and Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP) exercise in Italy in 2015.  COMAO is a broad and complex subject and the number of military personnel with operational and training experience in this domain is shrinking across Europe.  This is especially pertinent to the rotary community which has limited access to existing organisations such as the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP).  Additionally, bespoke courses in which complex helicopter operations are the main focus currently do actually not exist.

The aim of the course at RAF Linton-on-Ouse was to increase participants’ knowledge of COMAO planning, using the so-called 4T’s (Task, Target, Threat and Tactics) process.  Equally important, the course allowed to create an environment in which numerous nations meet, work together and develop their capabilities while acquiring an in-depth knowledge and understanding of each other’s platforms.

The course was very well attended which is testimony for the high demand of COMAO planning trainings across Europe.  There were helicopter trainees from Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Hungary, Belgium and the UK. Tactics and weapons instructors were provided from Sweden, the Dutch Weapons School and the UK.  Vitally, the course was supported by 8 Sqn AWACS from RAF Waddington and 100 Sqn Hawks from RAF Leeming bringing with them a wealth of knowledge concerning Air Battle Space Management and a remarkable breadth of fast-jet capabilities.  The UK provided a Ground Liaison Officer with comprehensive intelligence support.  In total, the platforms present at the course included the AB212, AS532, Mi-17, CH-47, CH-53, A-109, AH-64, Navy Lynx, E3-D Sentry and the numerous fast-jet platforms represented by the 100 Sqn pilots.

The course began with lectures and platform capability briefs and was followed by 3 days of scenarios with one mission being planned and briefed each day. As the course was progressing, the missions increased in complexity, running from the start of hostilities and covert insertions for bridge demolition and distraction operations to troop reinforcements and Non-combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO).  The final event culminated in a complex night mission to arrest a High Value Target (HVT).  The threat level was raised each day; therefore the tactics to deal with those threats had to be reconsidered too before being implemented.

The outcome of the course was praised as overwhelmingly positive by all the participants.  One of the key takeaways mentioned by them was that such courses need to be longer so that more time can be spent on the theoretical aspects and a deeper understanding of platform capabilities can be gained.  This recommendation will most likely be taken on board for the next edition, probably in 2017.

  More information:

• EDA Helicopter Initiative project page
• EDA Exercises and Training project page
• COLD BLADE Helicopter training 2016 (news, March 2016) 

 

Forty experts from fifteen participating EDA Member States gathered in Malmo (Sweden) on 8-9 June 2016 to discuss the final arrangements for the multinational Counter Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IED) exercise Bison Counter 2016 (BC16) to be hosted by the Swedish Armed Forces from 15 to 27 August 2016.

During this final coordination conference, discussions focused on logistics and planning arrangements. According to the information compiled during the meeting, more than 200 troops from 20 European and non-European countries, as well as some 700 Swedish troops will take part in BC16.

The exercise plan is to evaluate the full C-IED concept from the first responders’ perspective until delivery of C-IED related intelligence production, so as to tackle all the C-IED work strands. A large number of different C-IED enablers ranging from Military Search, Military Working Dogs, Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Improvised Explosive Devices Disposal (IEDD), EOD divers, Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear and explosives (CBRNe) experts, Military Engineers and Weapon Intelligence Teams from Land, Maritime and Air domains will take part in the exercise. The Forces will be split up in different components such as Task Force C-IED, Brigade Level Staff, Training Teams, Observers and Lessons Learned among others.

The scenario will see a large number of C-IED dedicated tasks being implemented in several locations in Sweden including maritime C-IED tasks at a naval base.

The inclusion of the Joint Deployable Exploitation and Analysis Laboratory (JDEAL) deployable capability (JDC) marks the first time the laboratory will deploy in its fully operational mode. Previously, the laboratory has been recently sent on a first expeditionary deployment to a Spanish exercise (Interdict 16). This time, more than 20 exploitation experts between lab members and observers will provide a 24/7 service.

Major Lars Samuelsson (Swedish Armed Forces) pointed out the challenge of running such a complex and specific exercise (the only full C-IED dedicated exercise worldwide);he is expecting representatives from 20 different nationalities to attend.

The first Bison Counter exercise took place in The Netherlands in 2013. Building on this experience, the EDA’s C-IED Project Team decided to institutionalize Bison Counter as a bi-annual C-IED dedicated activity under the umbrella of the EDA.

A Distinguished Visitor’s Day is planned for 25 and 26 August.

 

More information:  

• First C-IED workshop successfully completed (webnews)
• JDEAL: ready for deployment (webnews)
• EDA Project Page: C-IED

The European Defence Agency (EDA) in cooperation with the European Commission (EC), and the Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking (ECSEL JU) is organising the first “Opportunities for Dual-Use Technologies – Components” Workshop on June 28, 2016.

The criticality of electronic components is reflected in a growing need for EU non-dependence. Securing supply in areas such as sensors, new materials and digital systems is grabbing the attention of both governments and industry. The most relevant European research projects in these areas will be presented in the workshop, highlighting the past and present developments as well as future opportunities. 

The event is expected to bring together experts from the entire range of stakeholders involved in European dual-use technology research. EDA, EC and ECSEL JU directors will be opening the event, while the panel discussion will involve representatives from the UK Ministry of Defence, STMicroelectronics, the European Commission (DG GROW) and the European Space Agency. 

For more information and to express your interest to attend follow this link. 

 

Acknowledging water as a critical resource throughout Europe, five EDA Member States – Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Portugal and Ireland - have recently committed to participating in a novel water management project which seeks to examine water management on defence lands from a hydro-informatics, conservation, sustainability and technological innovation point of view.

The Smart Blue Water Camps (SBWC) project was proposed and developed by Greece who will lead it supported by the EDA. The project seeks to assess existing military water management systems and installations on European soil. For the first phase of the project, the five participating Member States will conduct analysis of the water infrastructure on a chosen military site in each Member State through a series of workshops in order to define the ‘Smart Blue Water Camp Blueprint’. Interventions will be identified and listed according to suitability, cost and impact on the ‘Smart Blue Water Camp Blueprint’. Phase 1 will take place over a ten month period. Thereafter, phase two of the project will involve implementation of the most suitable identified interventions.

Water management

Existing civil and military water management infrastructure is facing pressure due to climatic changes and limited new investment. There are two major trends developing in water management technology: ‘smarter’ and environmentally integrated infrastructure. Military installations are among the least acknowledged elements in water cycle management.

Military camps have great potential for improvement due to their unique characteristics such as significant water and energy demands, significant drainage and wastewater flows, generally aging and inefficient infrastructures, in some cases a need for more autonomy from centralised water and energy systems and a transient population of end users, all of which have a detrimental impact on water management.

The opportunities that are presented by military camps in terms of improved water management include: (1) space abundance for the deployment of water demand management technologies e.g. sustainable draining systems, rainwater harvesting & recycling systems, green roofs & walls, (2) similarity of military installations from an upscaling perspective and transferability of best practices and knowledge and (3) the long term commitment of military from a continuation perspective.

Background

The Smart Blue Water Camps project is launched within the EDA’s energy and environment programme. Centred on four main themes: data collection and analysis, energy efficiency, alternative energy, and defence sustainability, the programme identifies and builds a portfolio of activity that spans the capability, armaments and research & technology perspectives with a view to sharing best practice and enabling collaborative activity wherever possible.

More information:

• Energy & environment project page

After a successful first meeting in Brussels in January this year of the two-year Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence &Security Sector, the second meeting kicked-off today in Dublin, Ireland. The conference was officially opened by the Assistant Secretary General and Defence Policy Director at the Irish Department of Defence, Mr Ciaran Murphy, the EDA Chief Executive, Mr Jorge Domecq, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Mr Jim Gannon and Mr Dominique Ristori, Director General for Energy at the European Commission.

“Defence is one of the largest energy consumers in Europe. One of the key challenges is to quantify the extent of this energy usage and to assess how projects stimulated through the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector can impact on overall EU energy usage”, EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq said at the opening of the second conference. “This is a unique opportunity for change. We have the right experts gathered in the right place. The focus is on military installations and activity on European territory. The goal is to examine where improvements can be made and where assistance is required to address existing challenges”.

Whilst the first meeting in Brussels was attended by over 80 participants, primarily from European government ministries of defence and armed forces, the second conference is attended by more than 140 experts from government administrations, as well as industry, academia, NATO representatives and the European Commission, namely DG ENERGY and EASME, the Executive Agency for SMEs.

This unique Consultation Forum is actively supported by DG ENERGY and aims at progressing the work started with European Ministries of Defence and Armed Forces relating to energy management, energy efficiency in military buildings and infrastructure and the use of renewable energy systems on defence lands. The activity is now carried forward with the participation of 27 EU Member States including Denmark which shows the critical importance of energy efficiency.

Background

The Consultation Forum is a European Commission initiative managed by the European Defence Agency. It brings together experts from the defence and energy sectors to share information and best practice on improving energy management, efficiency and the use of renewable energy in the civil uses of the military. The Consultation Forum takes place in a series of five plenary meetings over two years. The work is carried out in three parallel working groups each with a particular focus: (1) Energy management, (2) Energy efficiency & 3) Renewable energy.

 

Picture: from left to right: Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, Chief of Staff Irish Defence Forces; Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive of the European Defene Agency; Paul Kehoe Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Mr Ciaran Murphy, Assistant Secretary General and Defence Policy Director at the Irish Department of Defence, Mr Jim Gannnon, Chief Executive Officer of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. 

More information

• Consultation Forum page
• Website Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission

The European Defence Agency (EDA) collects defence data on an annual basis. The Ministries of Defence of the Agency’s 27 Member States (MS) provide the data. EDA acts as the custodian of the data and publishes the aggregated figures. The 2014 and estimated1 2015 figures refer to the total for all EDA Member States2, and if not otherwise stated, they are nominal.

Key findings:

• Defence expenditure increased for the first time after six years of continuous decline
• Operation and maintenance expenditure further increased, while investment further decreased
• Defence R&T expenditure at its lowest level
• Collaboration increased in equipment procurement and European defence R&T
• Defence personnel decline slowed down
• Deployment figures noticeably decreased
• Slight progress recorded on two out of four collective benchmarks

 

Defence expenditure increased for the first time after six years of continuous decline

The year 2014 marked a turning point for the European defence expenditure, the results of the EDA 2014 Defence Data gathering exercise reveal. After a continuous six-year decline, which started in 2008 following the outbreak of the global economic and financial crises, total defence expenditure of the 27 EDA Member States increased in 2014 by 2.3% from EUR 190 billion to EUR 195 billion, compared to the previous year. This was sufficient to overcome inflation and achieve a 0.6% or EUR 1.1 billion real-term3 growth. 2015 estimates suggest a further nominal increase of 2.6% or EUR 5 billion to EUR 200 billion, the level comparable to that before the crisis. In real terms, however, this increase translates into a 0.2% or EUR 0.33 billion decrease.

This is the first time to have a decade’s perspective on the European defence spending, starting with 2005 data gathered through the pilot defence data exercise. From 2005 to 2015, although in nominal terms defence expenditure increased by 3.6% from EUR 193 billion to EUR 200 billion, in real terms there was a 10.7% or EUR 22 billion decrease.

Counting from the peak of expenditure reached in 2007 with the EDA Member States collectively spending EUR 204 billion on defence to the lowest point of EUR 190 billion in 2013, total defence spending reduced by 6.8% (EUR 14 billion) in nominal terms or by nearly 12% (EUR 24 billion) in real terms. The share of defence expenditure in GDP4 and in total government spending being as high as 1.81% and 3.86% in 2005, has been steadily decreasing since then, and in 2015, it is estimated to have dropped to the lowest recorded level of 1.40% and 2.95%, respectively.

 

Operation and maintenance expenditure further increased, while investment further decreased

As regards defence expenditure structure, the year 2014 further highlighted the trend that began to emerge back in 2011, namely that of increasing expenditure on operation and maintenance and decreasing investment. Operation and maintenance - the second largest component of total defence spend with the average share of 23% – appears to be on an upward trajectory as of 2011. During the years 2011 to 2013, it grew at an average annual rate of 2.3%, and in 2014, it jumped by 11.7% (9.8% real increase) to EUR 52.2 billion, the highest absolute and relative (26.8% of total expenditure) value since 2006. Overall, operation and maintenance expenditure increased in real terms by EUR 4.6 billion or 10.3% from 2006 to 2014.

By contrast, defence investment, comprising equipment procurement and R&D (including R&T), continues to decline – a trend that started with a sharp 11.6% real decrease in 2011 and was reinforced with another significant real fall of 9.1% in 2014. Given a relatively small volume of R&D expenditure, this result was largely driven by another component of investment – equipment procurement – which in 2014 dropped by EUR 4.3 billion or 15.0%, compared to the previous year, the largest real decrease since 2006. R&D expenditure that has been declining as well, appears to be on an upward trend since 2012. In 2013, it achieved a 1.5% increase, and in 2014, it jumped by another 16.0% to EUR 8.8 billion, the biggest nominal increase observed so far. A real increase was slightly smaller, 0.8% in 2013 and 14.1% in 2014. From 2006 to 2014, R&D expenditure decreased by almost EUR 2 billion or 18.5% in real terms.

The share of investment in total defence expenditure, traditionally accounting for around 20%, shrank in 2014 by almost two percentage points to 17.8%. Within the investment category, the share of equipment procurement, amounting to around 16% on average, reduced by over two percentage points to 13.3%, while the share of R&D increased by 0.5 percentage points to 4.5% between 2013 and 2014. On average, R&D share in total investment stood at around 4.3% between 2006 and 2014, with the highest value of 4.9% reached in 2006, and the lowest – 3.9% – in 2012.

Personnel expenditure remains the largest component accounting for slightly above half – 51.2% – of total defence spend. Despite decreasing personnel numbers, personnel expenditure increased in some countries. At the aggregate EDA level, personnel expenditure has been gradually decreasing since 2006, but in 2014, it increased by 4.1% (2.4% real increase) to EUR 99.8 billion. During the entire period from 2006 to 2014, Member States’ real expenses dedicated to personnel reduced by over EUR 19 billion or almost 17%.

 

Defence R&T expenditure at its lowest level

A slight increase (+3.2%) in R&T expenditure achieved in 2013, was lost the year after, as R&T spending dropped by 4.6% (-6.1% in real terms) back to 2012 level of EUR 2.0 billion, the lowest since 2006. R&T expenditure was highest in 2006 amounting to EUR 2.7 billion – the expected response to the ambitious goal set by the EU leaders at the Hampton Court summit in 2005 to achieve a paradigm shift in defence R&T by spending more and spending more together. However, it has been gradually decreasing since then, despite the repeated urge to invest in defence R&T now to have effective and credible defence capabilities in the future. A real-term decrease in R&T expenditure was rather dramatic, amounting to nearly EUR 1 billion or 32% from 2006 to 2014. The share of R&T in total defence spend has been gradually shrinking as well, from the biggest of 1.32% in 2006, to the smallest of 1.02% in 2014.

 

Collaboration increased in equipment procurement and European defence R&T5

Since 2012, it has not been possible to have a comprehensive picture of the total Member States’ expenditure on collaborative (including European collaboration) defence equipment procurement and R&T projects and programmes, as several Member States were not in a position to provide this data. Nevertheless, although incomplete, 2014 data suggests slight improvements on three out of four collaborative expenditure categories, namely collaborative and European collaborative defence equipment procurement and European collaborative defence R&T.

Collaborative defence equipment procurement of the reporting EDA Member States increased by almost EUR 1 billion or 20.5%, compared to 2013, to EUR 5.7 billion. The share of European collaboration within this category increased in absolute terms – from EUR 4.5 billion to EUR 5.1 billion – but decreased in relative terms – from 94.6% to 89.8% of total collaborative procurement – during the same period. In relation to total defence equipment procurement expenditure, the share of collaborative equipment procurement increased from 15.9% to 22.1%, suggesting that the remaining 77.9% were directed to non-collaborative procurements. The share of European collaborative equipment procurement in total defence equipment procurement grew from 15.0% to 19.9%, an achievement of almost five percentage points with respect to the corresponding benchmark.

As regards R&T, total collaborative defence R&T expenditure of the reporting Member States decreased by EUR 18.6 million or 9.2% to EUR 185 million from 2013 to 2014, while European collaboration part within this category increased in both absolute – from EUR 168 million to EUR 172 million – and relative – from 82.5% to 93.3% of total collaborative R&T – terms. In relation to total defence R&T, the share of collaborative R&T decreased from 9.7% to 9.3%, indicating that 90.7% were non-collaborative expenditure. Meanwhile, the share of European collaborative R&T in total defence R&T increased from 8.0% to 8.6% during the same period, signalling a minor progress in terms of the respective benchmark.

 

Defence personnel decline slowed down

Since 2006, defence personnel (military and civilian) has been steadily declining, mainly due to internal restructuring processes. Between 2008 and 2011, this was more evident (-4.9% annual average decrease), possibly due to unfavourable economic conditions. Thereafter personnel numbers continued to fall, thought at a slower pace, a rate of -1.7% per year on average. From 2013 to 2014, total civilian personnel reduced by almost 2% to 400,000, whereas military personnel - by half that (almost 1%) to 1,423,000. During the entire period from 2006 to 2014, total defence personnel shrank by almost 500,000 or 21.4%, where civilian personnel decreased by almost 85,000 or 17.5%, and military personnel – by almost 411,000 or 22.4%.

As total military personnel decreased, so did the numbers in each military personnel breakdown category. During the 2006-2014 period, Army reduced by 209,000 or 22.5% to 720,000, Maritime – by 36,000 or 16.0% to 191,000, Air Force – by 96,000 or 28.4% to 241,000, and military personnel not assigned to any of the above categories and nominated as “Other” – by 72,000 or 21.3% to 268,000. In relative terms, the shares of military personnel categories remained to a greater or lesser extent stable, with Army accounting for 52%, Maritime – for 13%, Air Force – for 18%, and Other – for 17% of the total military personnel, on average.

Investment (equipment procurement and R&D) per military has been increasing since 2006 (except in 2011) – a growth caused more by decreasing military personnel numbers, than increasing Member States’ investment – but the last two years witnessed a decline resulting from faster diminishing overall investment. In 2014, investment per military stood at around EUR 24,000, a 6.8% reduction on the 2013 figure of EUR 26,000.

 

Deployment figures noticeably decreased

The average number of troops deployed outside the European Union territory decreased by almost 46%, from 58,000 in 2013 to 32,000 in 2014, mainly due to disbanded ISAF6  security mission at the end of 2014 and withdrawal of participating Member States’ troops from Afghanistan. In relation to the overall strength of the 27 Member States’ military personnel, the share of deployed troops almost halved, from 4.0% in 2013 to 2.2% in 2014. During the period from 2006, when deployment figures were the highest, to 2014, the average number of troops deployed decreased by over 62% in absolute terms, and from 4.6% to 2.2% in relation to the total military personnel.

Total number of deployable (land) and sustainable (land) forces also decreased between 2013 and 2014 by over 13% and over 28%, respectively. In 2014, the 27 EDA Member States had in total 417,000 deployable (land) forces and 79,000 sustainable (land) forces, both numbers being the smallest since 2006. The ratio between the sustainable and a pool of deployable forces, which remained virtually stable during 2006-2013 at around 1:4, in 2014, equalled to 1:5.

After a five-year-long upward trend, costs of deployed operations decreased for the third year in a row, both in absolute terms and as a share of total defence expenditure. It reduced by over 25%, from EUR 7.4 billion (3.9% of total expenditure) in 2013 to EUR 5.6 billion (2.9%) in 2014, the lowest value and share since 2006, which is again largely a result of withdrawing Member States’ combat troops from Afghanistan. Operations costs per military deployed followed the same pattern in 2012 and 2013, but it increased in 2014 by almost 38% to EUR 176,000. This may signal that deployments become increasingly expensive, and, in the case of some Member States, can be explained by the fact that countries continue contributing to international operations financially, without sending actual troops.

 

Slight progress recorded on two out of four collective benchmarks

In 2007, EDA Member States agreed on a set of four collective benchmarks for investment. There is no obligation in terms of timelines or translation of these benchmarks into national targets.

Since 2012, due to incomplete collaborative data it is no longer possible to accurately measure progress towards two out of the four agreed benchmarks, namely European collaborative equipment procurement as a percentage of total equipment procurement (benchmark 2: 35%) and European collaborative defence R&T as a percentage of total defence R&T (benchmark 4: 20%). Nevertheless, the partial data suggests a slight increase in European collaboration in both equipment procurement (from 15.0% in 2013 to 19.9% in 2014) and R&T (from 8.0% in 2013 to 8.6% in 2014) among those countries that reported the data.

With regard to the benchmark 1 – defence equipment procurement and R&T (investment) as a percentage of total defence expenditure – the trend has been mixed. Since 2006, it has been slowly but steadily increasing, but after reaching its maximum of 21.9% in 2010, it appears to be on a decline. It stayed above the 20% benchmark from 2007 to 2012, except in 2011, but in 2014, it dropped to the lowest recorded level of 17.8%.

As for the benchmark 3, defence R&T expenditure as a percentage of total defence expenditure has been steadily declining since 2006, except in 2011 and 2013, when it slightly increased. In 2014, it dropped to the lowest level so far of 1.02%, which is barely above half of the 2% benchmark.

 

More information:

• Download the 2014 Defence Data booklet

Footnotes

1. During the 2014 Defence Data gathering round, Member States were asked to provide not only the actual defence expenditure of the previous year (i.e. 2014), but also the estimated defence expenditure of the current year (i.e. 2015). At the aggregate level, however, these estimates are only available for total defence expenditure. At the same time, a major effort has been undertaken by EDA to revise all the previous years’ data, including 2005 data collected as part of the pilot exercise, to ensure the best achievable data accuracy and comparability across Member States and over time. Consequentially, numerous figures have been revised.

2. Data in this publication do not include Denmark, which is not an EDA Member State. 2005 data do not include Bulgaria and Romania, which joined EDA in 2007. 2006–2012 data do not include Croatia, which joined EDA in 2013.

3. In order to measure real growth and ensure a “real” comparison over years, inflation needs to be taken into account. Thus, data from 2005 to 2015 has been adjusted to 2010 economic conditions (Source of deflator: European Commission, DG ECFIN, based on the weight of the EU-28).

4. As of 2014, reduced defence expenditure shares in relation to GDP in most Member States can partially be explained by the new GDP accounting methodology implemented by Eurostat, following the introduction of the new European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA 2010).

5. All 2012-2014 figures on collaboration are partial, as several Member States were not in a position to provide the data.

6. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan, established by the United Nations Security Council in December 2001 by Resolution 1386, as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement.

 

What impact the EU’s regulations on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of chemical substances and mixtures (CLP) have had on the European defence sector since they entered into force in 2007 and 2009 respectively?

To find out, the European Defence Agency (EDA) has commissioned REACHLaw Ltd. (www.reachlaw.fi) to carry out a study the results of which should be available by November 2016. The study is directed to the entire spectrum of European defence stakeholders including, in particular, the defence industry from small and medium-sized to big multinational companies, at all levels of defence supply chain.  

The objectives of the study are threefold:

• to carry out an impact analysis of REACH and CLP regulations on the EU defence sector;

• based on the results of this analysis, to formulate practical proposals for the improvement of the REACH and CLP regulations and their current implementation regime. These proposals will then serve as a basis for the EDA and its participating Member States’ input into the European Commission’s upcoming REACH review process scheduled for 2017;    
• to collect information about the impact, on the defence sector, of other EU chemical regulations (especially the BPR, POP and ODS regulations) in order to define a strategy and proposals for improvements in the future.

The overarching goal of the EDA’s study initiative is to come up with proposals to the European Commission, EU Member States, Ministries of Defence (MoDs) and the defence industry on how to make of REACH and CLP a win-win situation which would allow for both a high level of protection for health and environment and, at the same time, a strong, competitive and innovative European defence industry.

The contractor for the study has recently kicked off the consultation process through different means (questionnaires, interviews etc.) with all competent stakeholders, such as: Member States MoDs, European Commission, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), Member States REACH Competent Authorities and, last but not least, defence Industry.

Defence industry stakeholders are especially invited to take part in the consultation, by downloading from the dedicated contractor’s webpage (link below), filling and returning the related questionnaire/survey and any attachments to EDAsurvey@reachlaw.fi, by Thursday, 30 June 2016 at the latest.

For additional information/clarifications, the contractor’s point of contact is Mr. Tim BECKER (e-mail: tim.becker@reachlaw.fi, phone: +358 40 773 8143), while the EDA point of contact is Costas TATAROGLOU (E-mail: costas.tataroglou@ eda.europa.eu or Tel: +32 2 504 2949).

 

More information:

• Contractor’s webpage on industry consultation/questionnaire
• EDA letter - support to REACH and CLP study
• REACH - EDA project page

Twenty-five experts in Counter Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IED) matters participated in a workshop held in Soesterberg (The Netherlands) from 24-26 May 2016.

The workshop - the first of its kind organised under the Joint Deployable Exploitation and Analysis Laboratory (JDEAL) framework - attracted participants from across Europe (Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Romania, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden), from the United States as well as from the Centre of Excellence for C-IED. Discussions focused on JDEAL and on current and future trends in exploitation.

Attendees agreed that the JDEAL was crucial for the technical exploitation of IED incidents (analysis of events, scenes, components and materials) in order to gain valuable technical and tactical information on such threats and identify supply chains.

The briefings and discussions covered diverse but inter-linked topics, ranging from hybrid warfare through JDEAL potential support to common terminology and deployable capability concepts. Presentations were notably delivered by representatives from the Centre of Excellence C-IED, the EDA, NATO Headquarters, the Netherlands Forensic Institute, French munitions and explosive specialists, the Dutch Armed Forces as well as by US experts.  Participants also had the opportunity to visit the 1st JDEAL deployable capability (which is now fully operational) and to follow a guided tour of the JDEAL training facility in Soesterberg.

The main takeaways of the workshop were summarized by JDEAL Commander, Major Geert Jan Verkoeijen, as follows: 

• now that JDEAL has been delivered and the first deployable capability is operational, it should be used to a maximum for the benefit of the community. Given that the impact of IEDs on missions and operations continues to be significant, Member States are encouraged to deploy JDEAL in operations and to continue to prioritize joint training capabilities;
• JDEAL should become as visible as possible and be considered both a strategic and rapid reaction asset for decision-makers;
• there is an urgent need for agreeing on a common C-IED terminology to be used by all stakeholders.   

Francisco Cifuentes, the European Defence Agency (EDA) Project Officer for C-IED, welcomed the fact that the event had allowed to open new lines of communication and networking among experts which will certainly prove useful for the further development of the JDEAL project.

2016 promises to be a particularly busy year for the JDEAL deployable capability. In July, the laboratory will be sent to Spain to take part in multinational exercise "Interdict", followed, in August, by exercise Bison Counter 2016 in Sweden. The laboratory will be staffed by experts from all its contributing Member States as well as by observers from other stakeholders.

 

More information:

• JDEAL: ready for deployment (Feb.2016)
• Project page: Joint Deployable Exploitation and Analysis Laboratory (JDEAL)

Four EDA participating Member States - Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic, The Netherlands - as well as Norway have agreed to develop a joint project to enhance the European capabilities in the area of energetic materials.

 

Energetic materials are a class of material with high amount of stored chemical energy that can be released. These materials are commonly used in military applications, such as explosives, pyrotechnic compositions, propellants and fuels.

The new research project builds on acquired expertise from the previous EDA Formulation and Production of New Energetic Materials (FPNEM) project in the framework of the Agency’s capability technology group dealing with ammunition technologies (CapTech AMMO).

Under the lead of Sweden, experts will develop mutual awareness and knowledge of selected future energetic materials, production methods for critical components including raw materials, and small scale evaluation methods.

The project was named Energetic Materials towards an Enhanced European Capability (EMTEEC) and kicked-off during a meeting at the Swedish Defence Research Agency on 19/20 May; it will run over 4 years. France also participated in the kick-off meeting as an observer as discussions about the country joining the project are ongoing.

 

More information:

• Project page: Research & Technology

• European Network of National Authorities on Ammunition (ENNSA)

Around 30 experts from EU Member States and defence research institutes as well as industry representatives participated in an EDA workshop on ammunition technologies which was hosted by The Netherlands in Utrecht (25/26 May).

Over two days, participants discussed topics relating to energetic materials and missiles & munitions technologies as well as the possibility to launch common R&T activities on areas like 3D printing of energetic materials, extended range munitions and open architecture for missiles and munitions. Participants also had the opportunity to visit the laboratories of The Netherlands’ Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) where energetic materials and materials’ resistance to projectiles and blasts are tested and developed.

The operational conclusions of the workshop will be further developed in the remit of the EDA CapTech “Ammunition Technologies”.

 

More information:

• Research & Technoloy

• European Network of National Authorities on Ammunition (ENNSA)

On 31 May, high-level representatives and experts from the Member States, EUMC and EUMS Staff, NATO Allies and Officials of the European Commission (DG MOVE), SJU, SDM, EASA, NATO and EUROCONTROL met at the European Defence Agency for the 8th edition of the SES/SESAR Military Implementation Forum. The meeting was followed by the first EDA Single European Sky Military Aviation Board (ESMAB) policy level meeting.

The aim of this year’s Forum was to share with a wider audience, in an informal setting, the main strategic issues with regard to Single European Sky. The meeting was chaired by General Fernando de la Cruz Caravaca of the Spanish Air Force. Mr. Umberto Rossi of the European Commission replacing Mr. Henrik Hololei, Director General Mobility and Transport, opened the discussion on the challenges and opportunities for civil-military cooperation deriving from the EU Aviation Strategy and civil rulemaking activities in the framework of Single European Sky.

The Chairman of the EU Military Committee General Mikhail Kostarakos then provided the vision of the EU Chiefs of Defence on SES/SESAR in the wider context of military aviation.

Finally, Vice Admiral Ignacio Horcada focused on NATO C2 needs in the wider context of Single European Sky. The discussion provided for relevant exchanges on innovative technologies to be considered in SESAR, taking into account global trends in civil and military aviation.

“The SMIF is a key opportunity for European air forces to come to a common understanding of key priority areas of the Single European Sky. Today also underlined the importance of a broad consultation and coordination between the European and Allied defence community as well as civil aviation. The SMIF reconfirms EDA’s commitment to the three-step consultation process with EUROCONTROL and NATO, to serve the need of Member States”, said Jorge Domecq.

The first EDA Single European Sky Military Aviation Board (ESMAB) policy level meeting then brought together representatives from the participating Member States, as well as Denmark, Norway and Switzerland, and a representative from EUMC. Experts collectively agreed on priorities with regard to the upcoming milestones for Single European Sky in the broader context of military aviation and to ensure the necessary national involvement up to the appropriate decision-making level. Concretely, experts discussed and validated among other things the SES Military Aviation Action Plan and the roadmap on Performance Based Navigation.

More information:

• Single European Sky project page

The second European Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Course (EAATTC 16-2) of 2016, sponsored by the twenty Nation European Air Transport Fleet (EATF) Partnership, started on 22 May with the  arrival of six aircraft and six crews from France, Germany and Spain at the French Bricy Airbase near Orleans in France.  The course will run for two weeks and will take the already combat ready crews to the next level through an intensive round of academic lectures, one-on-one tuition and increasingly complex flying evolutions. 

As with previous EAATTC courses, the weeks will focus on a specific aspect of advanced capability. For EAATTC 16-2 hosted by France, the focus will be on multi-ship, formation flying - training to drop both equipment and paratroopers in a simulated high threat environment, from multiple aircraft and in a precisely coordinated manner - accurate to the second and dropping within a very small target area.  This task is very challenging as the course involves three different aircraft types: C-130, C-160 and Casa-235.

The complexity of each event builds over the period and by the end of the second week the crew commanders will be required to lead a full formation, at low level, evading enemy fighters and numerous simulated ground threat from small arms, hand-held missiles and more elaborate anti-aircraft systems.

The third course for 2016 will run in Bulgaria from  31 July to 12 August.

More information:

• Factsheet EAATTC 16-2
• Project page EATF