European Military Industry Left Behind as Euro Hawk Drone Project is Scrapped
VADUZ, Liechtenstein, June 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
The European military industry will fall behind the rest of the world thanks to the scrapping of two large-scale drone projects.
'Europe should have learned lessons from its experience in the Libyan civil war in 2011,' says World Review author Dr Uwe Nerlich, founding director of the Centre for European Security Strategies (CESS) based in Munich, Germany. 'This was a conflict on its doorstep that needed help from the US to resolve.'
'The US had intervened hesitantly while European Union partners found themselves without the strategic capacity to act. Precision weapons, logistics and reconnaissance had to be provided by the US. But lessons were not learned,' he adds.
Future options for the German Air Force are expected to relate chiefly to the development of UAV technology rather than manned aircraft. Despite this, two major UAV projects - the German-France Taralion project and the Euro Hawk - have been scrapped since 2012.
'Drone technology, in comparison with manned aircraft, corresponds to aircraft building of the 1980s and the development of its computer technology is similar. It is at a relatively early stage of development,' says Dr Nerlich.
'But Europe and European industry are increasingly being left behind while technological development and its application are making swift progress worldwide.'
About the Author
World Review author and international security advisor Dr Uwe Nerlich is a founding director of the Centre for European Security Strategies (CESS) based in Munich, Germany.
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