Defence CEO calls for European version of Israel’s Iron Dome

Financial Times has published an article saying Rheinmetall’s Armin Papperger makes case for air defence systems as EU contends with increased Russian threat. Caliber.Az reprints the article.

The chief executive of Europe’s largest munitions maker Rheinmetall has said EU leaders should consider installing short-range air defence systems similar to Israel’s Iron Dome.

Armin Papperger’s comments come as EU capitals are boosting military spending amid increased fears of Russia’s threat to the continent, and seeking to address long-standing limitations in existing defence systems.

Papperger said short-range air defence was “something they want to create in Europe”, pointing to one aspect of the Berlin-backed European Sky Shield initiative.

“I also think that it is a good idea to have a European solution similar to Iron Dome and beyond,” he told the Financial Times.

Iron Dome has a range of up to 70km and has been used by Israel since 2011 to intercept short-range rockets. Shielding large swaths of continental Europe with a similar system has been dismissed as far-fetched by analysts but EU countries have invested in an array of air defence technology.

Another European defence executive said Europe already had “all the capabilities in order to create the full layers of air defence. So it is there, it’s just a matter of deciding whether to use it or not”.

In late 2022, German chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the European Sky Shield initiative, which he cast as a way to create a European air and missile defence system by jointly procuring equipment.

Some 21 countries have signed up to the initiative. It enraged France, whose officials see it as strategically muddled and ill-conceived since it omits European-made air defence systems including the Franco-Italian made SAMP/T from MBDA.

Rheinmetall said in February it had sold its Skyranger 30 short-range air defence system, which it said could be used against drones among other things, to the German armed forces for €600mn.

Developing better-integrated European air and missile defence systems is a priority for Brussels, which is pushing capitals to share technologies to patch up gaps in the continent’s capabilities.

The EU’s defence strategy calls for, by 2035, “capabilities related to integrated European air and missile defence”, and a new industry proposal tabled by the European Commission this month involves budget support by the bloc to “European defence projects of common interest”.

Integrated air and missile defence systems were named as one of 22 EU defence capability priorities, with Brussels pushing for member states to develop “next-generation fully interoperable capabilities” in air defence that work with existing Nato systems.

The EU is also working on a new defence strategy that aims to boost joint procurement and sets goals for the first time about buying from manufacturers in the bloc as opposed to the US.

Defence industry executives have also called for greater co-operation and partnerships among companies to reduce duplication and bolster Europe’s industrial base in the long term.

Roberto Cingolani, chief executive of Leonardo, the Rome-based aerospace and defence group, told the FT that “everybody is talking to everybody”.

“We are trying to discuss among companies to see which are the possible pathways and more convenient solutions” to help protect the future of European citizens.