Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury has called for Europe to increase its investment in defense production and enhance cooperation on defense projects, according to a report by Reuters.
EU's Armament Reliance on the US.
Faury pointed out that the European Union's armament purchases are significantly lower than those of the United States, with up to three-quarters of these not manufactured within Europe but mainly in America.
He stressed that Europe's current approach focuses excessively on short-term procurement, often relying on the US for readily available armaments. Faury urged European leaders to boost investment in local production capacities to achieve long-term self-sufficiency.
Stronger Defense Cooperation with Britain
The Airbus CEO also urged stronger defense cooperation with Britain, which is collaborating with Italy and Japan on the GCAP jet fighter project. Meanwhile, Germany, France, and Spain are working on the FCAS jet project, with Airbus playing a major role along with France's Dassault Aviation.
Faury proposed the idea of a security and defense agreement between the EU and the UK. He suggested standardizing IT systems for the FCAS and GCAP projects to ensure NATO-level interoperability, potentially enhancing European defense capabilities.
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