Arming Europe
Abstract
Since the end of the Cold War, Europe's defense industry has undergone important changes. There has been a marked consolidation of the defense industry and a visible increase in intra-European collaboration. In 1993, only two European defense firms -- British Aerospace (BAE) and Thompson SA -- were among the top 10 defense firms in the world. Today, four European firms -- BAE Systems, EADS, Thales, and Finmeccanica -- are among the top 10. This consolidation has largely been driven by a desire to compete with U.S. defense firms on the global arms market, since, with the partial exception of UK defense companies, European firms have had difficulty penetrating the U.S. defense market. These developments have received relatively little attention outside the boardrooms of a few U.S. defense firms. However, they raise important issues for U.S. policy, notably whether these changes will enhance transatlantic defense cooperation or hinder it. Several factors have been responsible for the consolidation of the European defense industry since the end of the Cold War. Economic factors clearly played a role in promoting the consolidation. But they do not give the whole story. A more important factor was the consolidation of the U.S. defense market, which created several giant defense firms led by Lockheed Martin and Boeing that threatened to dominate the global arms market. The decline in the U.S. defense budget in the 1990s in the aftermath of the Cold War led U.S. government leaders to push for consolidation in the U.S. defense industry. The rise of large, competitive and technologically advanced U.S. defense firms provided a major impetus for European defense firms to consolidate. Equally important in driving the rise in intra-European consolidation and the creation of several major prime firms was a political desire for Europe -- especially the European Union -- to build an autonomous military capability.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA483980
Entities
People
- F. Stephen Larrabee
- Seth Jones
Organizations
- RAND Corporation