Defence`s Feeds

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

On 18 September, SEDE Members will discuss with Margarita Robles, Minister of Defence of Spain, the Spanish Presidency priorities in the area of security and defence. In the context of the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Presidency will focus on strengthening defence capabilities, including the EU Rapid Deployment Capacity and the implementation of the Strategic Compass.

Members will also discuss three draft reports on the implementation of the EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence, the Annual Report on the Common Security and Defence Policy and on the Security and defence implications of China's influence on critical infrastructure in the European Union.

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

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Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the EU’s flagship initiative for defence, has achieved a deepening of cooperation across all military domains over the past six years, but the European Union still lacks critical capabilities and strategic enablers for modern warfare, senior EU officials said on Wednesday. 

Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles, EU High Representative Josep Borrell and European Defence Agency Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý all called for new energy to be injected into the EU defence initiative that was launched by Member States in December 2017.

High Representative Borrell - who is also head of EDA - told the PESCO conference on 13 September, organised by the Spanish presidency of the Council, to use PESCO and not work in silos. "Cooperation among Member States is key to strengthening EU defence and the defence industry. On this, PESCO plays a key role in supporting the ambitions set in the Strategic Compass," he said.

PESCO was launched as the “cornerstone of European defence”, Spain’s Minister Robles recalled. Now the war in Ukraine and the critical situation in the Sahel region remind Europeans that the EU needs to preserve peace through solid armed forces, adequate investments and defence capabilities, she said.  

Borrell praised the 68 collaborative projects, including the European Medical Command and the Cyber Rapid Response Teams that have reached full operational capacity (FOC) within PESCO. Twenty-two projects are slated to reach FOC in 2025.  

Some of PESCO’s other achievements include headway in prototyping and testing  unmanned  systems as well as in designing a new class of military ship. PESCO helps Member States to develop new assets together. This helps save money, allows militaries to work closely together, and reinforces NATO for those who are allies.  The framework has also received a boost as Denmark has joined as the 26th Member State.  

The conference in Brussels, attended by some 150 representatives, is part of efforts to feed into a strategic review that will follow after the initiative’s initial phase between 2018 and 2025. EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý said: “We should use this window of opportunity to set its next political objectives, with Member States driving the European capability development process."

He also said: "A bold and concrete PESCO strategic review will be a sound political signal towards our citizens, but also our partners or competitors: governments of EU Member States are politically willing to advance common security and defence."

PESCO has 20 legally binding commitments for Member States, which include increasing defence spending, as well as planning and developing defence capabilities together. For PESCO’s next stage after 2025, Member States can decide to review  the commitments, as well as the number of projects. Performance indicators could also be introduced to measure PESCO  progress, diplomats, military staff and officials heard at the conference. 

To improve the sustainability of future defence mobility while retaining the highest performance demanded by military vehicles, the European Defence Agency (EDA) has been working on the development of hybrid drive trains for military use. EDA has formally kicked-off the HybriDT II (Hybrid Drive Train Demonstrator-phase 2) – project which involves the design of full-scale wheeled and tracked military purpose demonstrators with hybrid drive trains. The aim of HybriDT II is the design of demonstrators to verify simulation results and allow for tactical and logistic testing of new technologies. 

Phase two will work to identify the best technology for a modular and scalable hybrid architecture best fitting for military purpose which meets the objectives of significant weight saving, and space claim, thermal radiation reduction and fuel consumption reduction. Wheeled vehicles will be the primary focus of the research, with 8×8 and 6×6 Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) will be considered. In addition, tracked vehicle applications will be investigated just within simulation.

The kick-off meeting, held on 6 September, has officially started the second phase   of the project (HybriDT II) that involves Germany, as lead contributing Member State, Austria, The Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia as contributing Member States. This phase of the project has a duration of 15 months and a total budget 1,7 M€. In the expected follow-on phase (HybriDT III), one or more demonstrators will be developed, manufactured and tested according to the results obtained in HybriDT II.

Pan-European consortium 

The project will be executed by a consortium composed of thirteen industrial and research entities:  the AVL List as project leader and General Dynamics European Land Systems – Steyr from Austria; the German AVL Schrick, AVL Software and Functions and Institute for Chemical Technology Fraunhofer; DNV, TNO and VDL from The Netherlands; the Polish Military University of Technology and Huta Stalowa Wola Ironworks; AVL Slovenia, Elaphe Propulsion Technology and University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).

Hybrid II project, prepared in the CapTech Ground Systems at EDA’s Research and Innovation Directorate, contribute to develop innovative propulsion and drivetrain systems, which could fulfil production of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV), by introducing the most advanced technological trends in transportation.

EDA’s wider role 

EDA supports all EU Member States in improving their defence capabilities through European cooperation. Acting as an enabler and facilitator for Ministries of Defence willing to engage in collaborative capability projects, the Agency has become the hub for European defence cooperation with expertise and networks spanning the whole spectrum of defence capabilities. 

Member States use EDA as an intergovernmental expert platform where their collaborative projects are supported, facilitated, and implemented. For more details, please see here.

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Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of 50 Chinese researchers, specialising in subjects related to democracy and human rights, is due in Rome on 20 September, according to Intelligence Online's sources in Beijing and Rome. The group, drawn from China's leading universities and led