On Wednesday, Airbus told shareholders that European states need to “get their act together” on strategic autonomy and offered to assist in shoring up Europe’s weak industrial cooperation on military, but asked governments to back promises with factory orders.
The head of Europe’s largest aerospace business, Rene Obermann, warned investors last year’s Russian invasion of Ukraine was a wake-up call.
“It has shown that defense is vital to society and that European nations must cooperate for strategic autonomy.” “The sooner the better,” he told a streamed shareholder meeting on Wednesday.
Moscow’s “special operation” invasion has raised defense spending and reignited the debate over Europe’s security reliance on the US.
“We are committed to playing a role of enabler for more cooperation in defence, which we believe is one of the key prerequisites to ensure that Europe maintains its strategic autonomy,” Obermann added.
Obermann said Europe’s rearmament might boost new business efforts. He also mentioned sovereign capacities that Europe does not want to depend on the US.
“But some of these budgetary decisions are yet to unfold and materialise into concrete orders,” he continued.
With eastern partners trusting the US more for their defense, French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for Europe’s “strategic autonomy” from NATO.
Last year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged 100 billion euros for arms procurement, breaking decades of hesitation. However, several allies have criticized Berlin’s F-35 fighter jet procurement.
Paris and Berlin own 11% of Airbus, which makes fighters, helicopters, and airlifts.
Airbus leads numerous international programs, including the A400M airlifted and Tiger attack helicopter. However, France and Spain are unsure of their troop plane obligations, and Germany has withdrawn from the next phase of Tiger.
Last year, Reuters reported that the board undertook a defense review that might lead to strategic collaborations.
After dropping plans to buy a 29.9% share in its cybersecurity company Evidian, Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said Airbus remained open to strategic alliances with IT group Atos (ATOS.PA) on Wednesday.
He said China’s recovery would boost civil airline traffic above pre-pandemic levels, but he was disappointed with last year’s poor supply chain recovery.
