Defence`s Feeds

Jiří Šedivý, EDA’s Chief Executive, was in Paris today for talks with the French authorities. It was not only his first official visit since he took office in March but also the first of a ‘tour des capitales’ which will see him paying visits to all Member States in the coming months.

 Mr Šedivý was received at the French Ministry of Defence where he had meetings with Alice Guitton (Director General for International Relations and Strategy), General François Lecointre (Chief of Defence Staff), Lieutenant General Eric Bellot des Minières (Deputy Chief of Defence Staff for Defence Planning), General Eric Charpentier (Capability Director at the Defence Staff) as well as Thierry Carlier (National Armaments Director and Director for International Relations at the Direction générale de l'armement, DGA). Mr Šedivý also had meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Philippe Setton (EU Director) and David Bertolotti (Director for Strategic Affairs, Security and Disarmament).

“We are at a key moment in the implementation of EU defence initiatives: the PESCO strategic review is underway, the first CARD report will be published in November and important aspects related to the European Defence Fund will have to be decided upon later this year. The challenge is further exacerbated by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and its potential repercussions on defence planning and spending in our Member States. These difficult circumstances call for more European defence cooperation, more joint planning and more pooling and sharing of resources and capabilities. During my ‘tour des capitales’ in the coming months, I will listen to all our Member States’ specific ideas and suggestions and exchange views on how we can further improve collaborative capability development in Europe and strengthen the Agency’s role in it. My first stop today in Paris was a very good and promising start”, said Mr Šedivý.

Director General Alice Guitton stated "The year 2020 will be a milestone in strengthening European defence. The COVID-19 crisis has shown the need for deeper European cooperation, decreasing our dependencies, and more efficiency in defence spending, and many critical projects must now be completed. EDA’s work will be critical to help the EU Member States identify, prioritize and develop the key capabilities needed to face future crises and to strengthen European strategic autonomy, in a deteriorating security context, including by ensuring the success of the most recent initiatives, such as the EDF programme and PESCO.”

Preparations for the Multinational Multirole Tanker and Transport Fleet (MMF), aimed to increase Air-to-Air Refuelling capabilities in Europe, reached a significant milestone today when the first Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft was delivered to the fleet’s main operating base in Eindhoven. 

In total, the fleet could count up to 11 Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft of which eight have already been procured. While the first of them (MMF1) has now been delivered, the consecutive aircraft (2 to 8) will be delivered in the coming years: a brand new MRTT will be delivered roughly every six months to either Eindhoven (The Netherlands) as the ‘Main Operating Base’ or to Cologne (Germany) as the ‘Forward Operating Base Plus’.
 

Six participating countries so far 

The MMF, managed by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) with strong support of the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) under the ownership of NATO and operated by an international unit, will provide its six participating Member States (Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway and the Netherlands) with strategic tanker and transport capabilities. 

Based on a pooling and sharing concept, the participating countries will have access to a total of 8 (and in the future perhaps to 11) Airbus A-330 MRTT aircraft which can provide strategic transport (pax and cargo), air-to-air refuelling and medical evacuation capabilities. 
 

Example of excellent EU/NATO cooperation 

The multinational fleet builds on the excellent cooperation between NATO and EU Member States and Agencies since the very beginning of the project. Back in 2011, the European Defence Agency started an initiative to address the long-standing European shortfall in the air-to-air refuelling capacity. Since then, this initiative has grown into a mature programme handed over to and managed by the NSPA on behalf of the participating countries and supported by OCCAR for the acquisition phase. 

The MMF programme stands as an example on how European countries can cooperate, pooling and sharing resources to get access to state of the art capabilities that would be difficult or impossible to access individually. All the countries involved, independently of their size and the number of flying hours, have access to the MMF capabilities. 

EDA’s Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý said: “The Multinational Multirole Tanker and Transport Fleet is a prime example of European defence cooperation done in close coordination with NATO, which shows that once a capability shortfall has been jointly identified, European nations can pull together, work on a common project aimed at filling the gap, and eventually deliver – as they do with today’s delivery of the first aircraft. It’s Pooling & Sharing at its best. The European Defence Agency stands ready to assist additional Member States which are in need of AAR capabilities to explore their potential participation in this important project”. 

NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment, Camille Grand, said: “The MRTT fleet’s versatility in providing several critical capabilities simultaneously is nothing short of impressive. The aircraft can help respond to crises such as the COVID-19 emergency, by moving medical supplies and conducting medical evacuations. However, the fleet will probably have the most profound impact within the air-to-air refuelling mission, an area where historically many European Allies have lacked capacity. Therefore, the MRTT fleet will help contribute to a fairer transatlantic burden-sharing at NATO. It is also a successful pilot multilateral cooperation project, bringing together a number of Allies and multiple NATO and EU institutions and agencies in support of the delivery of a major capability”. 
 

Background 

The Netherlands and Luxembourg initially launched the programme in July 2016, with the first one as the lead nation of the project. Germany and Norway joined in 2017, Belgium followed in early 2018 and Czech Republic lastly joined the MMF programme in October 2019. 

The MMF aircraft will be operated by the Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport Unit (MMU) comprising of military personnel of the participating countries. The unit is based in two permanent operating bases, the Main Operating Base in Eindhoven and the Forward Operating Base in Cologne-Wahn. Among the eight MMF aircraft, five will be based in Eindhoven, and three in Cologne. 
 

More information: 

• Related NATO web story (30 June 2020)

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EDA’s latest European Defence Matters magazine (N°19) is now available with a double focus at least partially imposed by current developments: the Covid-19 pandemic and its potential repercussions on European defence; and EDA’s successful collaborative training & exercise activities.

The first part of the magazine is devoted to an analysis of the impact the Covid-19 crisis might have on the wider European defence sector, including national and EU defence spending and the implementation of the EU defence cooperation tools. It features exclusive opinion editorials of and interviews with the Agency’s new Chief Executive, Jiří Šedivý, the European Commission Director General of DG Defence Industry & Space (DEFIS), Timo Pesonen, the Secretary General of the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), Jan Pie, and the Security and Defence Editor at the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), Daniel Fiott. The magazine’s cover story then provides readers with a detailed insight into the various collaborative training & exercise activities the Agency is running since many years with great success with the aim of increasing Member States Armed Forces’ interoperability.

The magazine also drills into the fascinating topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and speaks to Christian Hedelin, the Chief Strategy Officer of SAAB, about how AI has already made its way into defence equipment. Moreover, it puts a spotlight on a new promising project launched in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) related to CBRN detection. Last but not least, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană shares his assessment of the current state of play of EU/NATO cooperation.

Have a look immediately and enjoy your reading!

The magazine is available here.

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