European Defence Research & Technology Strategy
sxc.hu Enhancing the effectiveness of the European Defence Research and Technology (EDRT) is one of the main objectives of the European Defence Agency. The EDRT Strategy, endorsed by the EDA Steering Board on 10 November 2008, is focused on addressing the R&T needs of the Common Security and Defence Policy “as it stands now and develops in the future”.
Investment in Research and Technology (R&T) is vital for EDA participating Member States (pMS) to maintain their future defence and industrial capabilities. However, for two reasons this is becoming quite difficult.
Firstly, the margins to increase R&T spending are small as national defence budgets remain constrained.
Secondly, by spending most of the Defence R&T funds nationally – in 2008 about 83.5% – the EU Member States miss opportunities for economies of scale. Hence, Javier Solana – the former Head of the Agency – has called for spending better and more together on Defence R&T, an aim supported by European Ministers of Defence. They agreed in November 2007 collective benchmarks to increase Defence R&T spending to 2% of all defence expenditure and to bring European collaborative Defence R&T spending to a level of 20%.
Investing more effectively and more together requires a strategy to guide the different Defence R&T shareholders. The need for a guidance-providing EDRT Strategy is further reinforced by a number of trends such as the introduction of a European capability drive for Research and Technology programming for the development of defence equipment and systems. Moreover, the restructuring of the European defence industry and the growing cross-border ownership of companies in the supply chain, the multi-lateralisation of collaborations and the need for creating synergies between civil and military activities cannot be disregarded.
The EDRT Strategy takes into consideration the above factors aiming at the achievement of a step change in Defence R&T Collaboration in Europe. A convergence of the participating Member States’ defence investment will improve the coherence in the R&T-related activities of capability planners, researchers and technology developers, serving the military users.
To achieve this convergence, the Strategy covers three important strategic elements. Firstly the “Ends”: the technologies we should invest in to improve European future military capabilities. Secondly the “Means”: the mechanisms, structures or processes that would increase the effectiveness of this investment. Finally, the “Ways”: the roadmaps and action plans through which the “Ends” and “Means” should be implemented.
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