European defence industry struggles to keep pace with Ukraine war

Europe’s defence industry is struggling to produce weapons at the pace demanded by the war in Ukraine, Euractiv reports.

According to the outlet, many defence programs in the EU are planned on a five- to 10-year timeline. By the time the process is completed, specific weapons systems may already have become obsolete even before all the necessary approvals are secured.

“Our system lacks flexibility,” a European Commission official working with Ukraine’s defence industry acknowledged.

The official added that Ukrainian companies have long told their European allies they could nearly double production if they had the funding and contracts needed to scale up.

Europe is trying to make up for the shortfall through joint ventures, licensing agreements and production projects with Ukrainian companies, which operate more quickly. However, even after an agreement is signed, it takes at least eight months to launch a new plant due to the need to train specialists and complete the necessary approvals.

Last week, European defence ministers signalled their readiness to bring forward payments from the EU’s €90 billion loan after Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the funds to be released sooner.

By Jeyhun Aghazada