buglerbilly
15-04-11, 02:19 AM
By JULIAN HALE
Published: 14 Apr 2011 12:17
BRUSSELS - The Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) warned that European governments are not spending enough on research and technology.
"Drastic cuts in defense budgets are currently having a severe impact on research and technology funding across Europe," the ASD said April 14 in a news release, following its board and council meeting.
"Underinvestment in R&T is a silent killer," warned ASD President Domingo Ureņa-Raso, who is also the head of Airbus Military. "When Europe wakes up, it will be too late. Once lost or significantly eroded, high-tech capabilities cannot be easily recreated. The time for action is now."
The ASD is unhappy that the defense package of EU directives, which will come into force this year and which aims to open up defense markets in Europe, is not accompanied by any attempt to consolidate demand by harmonizing requirements across the continent.
Ureņa-Raso wants EU member states to pool their requirements at the EU level and then aggregate their budgets.
"European projects [such as European Defence Agency ones] are a way to pool and are the only way," he said. He also called for "more common programming at European level in areas of technology with civil and military applications, such as unmanned air systems and situational awareness."
Asked whether the Franco-British Defence Treaty made things difficult for multilateral projects at the European Defence Agency level, he said that the two were "complementary and not contradictory."
Published: 14 Apr 2011 12:17
BRUSSELS - The Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) warned that European governments are not spending enough on research and technology.
"Drastic cuts in defense budgets are currently having a severe impact on research and technology funding across Europe," the ASD said April 14 in a news release, following its board and council meeting.
"Underinvestment in R&T is a silent killer," warned ASD President Domingo Ureņa-Raso, who is also the head of Airbus Military. "When Europe wakes up, it will be too late. Once lost or significantly eroded, high-tech capabilities cannot be easily recreated. The time for action is now."
The ASD is unhappy that the defense package of EU directives, which will come into force this year and which aims to open up defense markets in Europe, is not accompanied by any attempt to consolidate demand by harmonizing requirements across the continent.
Ureņa-Raso wants EU member states to pool their requirements at the EU level and then aggregate their budgets.
"European projects [such as European Defence Agency ones] are a way to pool and are the only way," he said. He also called for "more common programming at European level in areas of technology with civil and military applications, such as unmanned air systems and situational awareness."
Asked whether the Franco-British Defence Treaty made things difficult for multilateral projects at the European Defence Agency level, he said that the two were "complementary and not contradictory."