Despite the wide range of operations undertaken by the European Union, its member states’ armies still have a common requirement: a means to gather intelligence that allows each to preserve its independence of evaluation, at least as far as self-protection is concerned. Because of their flexibility, performance and in-flight security, tactical UAVs have become an essential tool.
For reasons of cost and interoperability, only a European programme will allow the development of a tactical UAV that meets all European forces’ needs, can be projected using the strategic lift that Europe is in the process of acquiring and affordable by all EU armies likely to operate together in any theatre. The European Defence Agency is the body that could undertake such a programme of balanced industrial cooperation, which would contribute to real operational solidarity involving all European armies.
Europe’s security and defence policy (ESDP) is currently evolving in response to the increasing awareness amongst member states of the need for solidarity to address the threats posed by the world of today. Its trials and errors have not resulted in any real synergy leading to the development of weapons systems of universal appeal, and national initiatives still hold sway when decisions are taken on new equipment for European defence forces.
Yet in parallel Europe has been creating institutions to jointly identify and produce the resources that are most lacking in the operations it undertakes in defence of its own security and the peace of other regions, not only in Europe but further afield throughout the world. Amongst these needs, now that the question of strategic transport is in hand, the one whose absence is most detrimental to the autonomy of its actions is the means to gather intelligence,(1) and especially that provided by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
We shall not concern ourselves here with very high performance UAVs, whose prohibitive cost limits them to the more powerful defence forces, but with tactical UAV; these are accessible to every European nation, and will enable each one to play an active role in European operations. If these sensor platforms are to cooperate one with another and with the European command structure, they must be designed within a federating programme that will bring the costs down to levels that any European army can afford.
