Dassault, Exports and the Next Generation Fighter Aircraft

03/07/2022
By Pierre Tran Paris - Dassault Aviation insisted on being appointed lead prime contractor and architect on a European next generation fighter jet, and also lead contractor on the fighter’s flight control system, executive chairman Eric Trappier said March 4. “These are two red lines,” he said on the sidelines…

Launching the Tiger Mk III Program: Next Steps in European Defense Industrial Cooperation

03/04/2022
By Pierre Tran Paris - An announced deal for the upgrade of 60 Airbus Helicopters Tiger attack helicopters, flown by the French and Spanish forces, was worth €4 billion ($4.4 billion) for the first batch of work, a senior source said. France will pay €2.8 billion for the upgrade of…

The Ukrainian Crisis in a Wider Context

03/03/2022
By Robbin Laird Recently, I talked with Dr. Harald Malmgren, the noted political-economist and strategist, about the Ukrainian crisis in the wider global context. We started by discussing a  surprisingly little focused upon development since the Russian seizure of Crimea in 2014, namely, the emphasis of the Putin regime on…

Time for a Competitive Germany

03/02/2022
By Dr. Andrew Denison The invasion has made it all too clear that Germany is too big, too rich, and too geo-strategically important to forgo influence, to opt out of the competition with Russia and China. European security urgently needs German leadership in providing military capabilities, developing geostrategy, and mobilizing…

The Eurodrone Program Moves Ahead: February 2022

03/01/2022
By Pierre Tran Paris - OCCAR, a European procurement agency, signed Feb. 24, 2022 a contract worth €7.1 billion ($8 billion) with Airbus Defence and Space as prime contractor for a medium-altitude, long-endurance drone, marking a step in the European pursuit of military, industrial, and political independence. “The Eurodrone program…

Putting the Ukraine Crisis in a Broader Global Context

02/28/2022
By Robbin Laird Recently, I had a chance to discuss the Ukraine crisis and its broader global context with Dr. Paul Bracken. Bracken started the discussion by focusing on the structural change aspect of the crisis. “The mainstream media focuses on the personalistic aspects of this conflict. "It’s interesting how…

The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Its Initial European Consequences

02/25/2022
By Pierre Tran Paris - “The fate of not only our state is being decided, but also what Europe will be like,” the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Feb. 24. Zelenskiy was addressing the nation on the day of the Russian early morning missile attacks on the East European…