John Gardner’s Post

”Europe is made up of many great nations with productive economies. They ought to have the capacity to handle the conflict, but over decades they have become far too weak. America has been asked to fill the void at tremendous expense to its own citizens. Behind the price tag, this conflict has revealed the shocking weakness of the defence industrial base on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe and America, fragmented defence industries make limited quantities of the most advanced weapons on Earth, but struggle to produce heavy weaponry at the speed and scale needed to win a major conflict. For all the talk about who spends the most on defence by percentage of gross domestic product, Russia currently makes more than twice the amount of artillery shells each month than Europe and the US combined. Defence spending and defence readiness are two different things. For example, Germany spends considerably more than France on defence each year, with little to show for it. The French army includes six highly capable combined-arms brigades ready to deploy and perform combat missions, but the Bundeswehr can barely scrape together a single combat-ready brigade.”

The question each European nation needs to ask itself is this: are you prepared to defend yourself? And the question the US must ask is: if our European allies can’t even defend themselves, are they allies, or clients? The United States has provided a blanket of security to Europe for far too long. In the aftermath of the cold war, European nations made deep and lasting cuts to their defence budgets. Estimates suggest the continent would have spent an additional $8.6tn on defence over 30 years had they maintained cold war levels of military expenditure. As the American defence budget nears $1tn per year, we ought to view the money Europe hasn’t spent on defence for what it really is: an implied tax on the American people to allow for the security of Europe. #ukrainerussiawar #germany #trump #uselections

Civilians must be ready to fight because Britain’s military is so small, warn peers. The House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee has published its report. Damning report says evidence suggests size of Army is inadequate and urges country to think of itself as ‘a nation under genuine threat’ Commenting on the report, Lord de Mauley, who chairs the Committee said: “We welcome the Government’s launch of the Strategic Defence Review, which presents an opportunity to set clear priorities and develop a holistic model for strengthening UK Defence that mobilises all elements of national power, leveraging technology, industry, Reserves, allies, and wider society. Given the perilous threat environment, the Government must not miss this chance and must commit to spending more on defence and spending better.” Key conclusions and recommendations of the report include: Defence industry preparedness: The UK’s defence industry is unprepared for sustained conflict due to years of underinvestment. There is a lack of trust between government and the defence industry, which needs to be addressed through clearer, long-term Government commitments to allow industry to take risks and increase output. Innovation: Non-traditional defence suppliers, such as start-ups, SMEs and tech companies, are key to innovation and accelerating the pace of delivery, but they face barriers in accessing the defence market. The Government needs to facilitate a ‘broad church’ of industry engagement, beyond the traditional defence sector. #AUKUS Michael Sharpe See https://lnkd.in/gEGrChTq

EU Proposes Initial €1.5 Billion to Galvanize Defense Sector Some nations are wary of Brussels grabbing too much power The funding for the strategy would be allocated for 2025 until 2027 and would act as a bridge until the EU agrees on its new budget, a European Commission official said, adding that the initial amount would be insufficient over the long term. Most European nations are now increasing their military budgets. EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton has urged the bloc to consider spending €100 billion, while some European leaders have called for joint bonds to meet that level of defense spending. Such measures are unlikely to take off before EU elections in June. #internationalrelations #foreignpolicy #geopolitics #europeanunion #defense #security #funds https://lnkd.in/gheCHvwW

A Call for Strengthened Military Investment In a recent interview with BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Tony Radakin, the UK chief of defence staff, highlighted the pressing need for increased financial support for our armed forces. His appeal for more funds, while predictable, underscores the ongoing conversations about the essential role of a well-funded defence sector. 🛡️ During the discussion, Treasury minister Darren Jones expressed the government's intent to escalate defence spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of the national income. This is an encouraging sign; however, clarity on the timeline remains elusive. The Defence sector must adapt and grow to meet new challenges, and timely financial support is crucial for maintaining our national security and readiness. As professionals invested in the stability and security of our nation, it's important to stay informed and engaged in these developments. Let's discuss: how do you see the future of UK defence funding influencing our industry?🤔 🔗 Follow Electus Recruitment for Jobs and News: https://lnkd.in/g2FZjYdW #UKDefence #MilitarySpending #NationalSecurity

A Call for Strengthened Military Investment In a recent interview with BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Tony Radakin, the UK chief of defence staff, highlighted the pressing need for increased financial support for our armed forces. His appeal for more funds, while predictable, underscores the ongoing conversations about the essential role of a well-funded defence sector. 🛡️ During the discussion, Treasury minister Darren Jones expressed the government's intent to escalate defence spending from 2.3% to 2.5% of the national income. This is an encouraging sign; however, clarity on the timeline remains elusive. The Defence sector must adapt and grow to meet new challenges, and timely financial support is crucial for maintaining our national security and readiness. As professionals invested in the stability and security of our nation, it's important to stay informed and engaged in these developments. Let's discuss: how do you see the future of UK defence funding influencing our industry?🤔 🔗 Follow Electus Recruitment for Jobs and News: https://lnkd.in/ekwbqcwY #UKDefence #MilitarySpending #NationalSecurity

What will the general election mean for UK recruitment?... Many things, more than anyone can reasonably predict, so be careful who you listen to. However, one thing is universally agreed upon by the major powers in Westminster, an increase in defence spending. With defence spending across Europe the highest since the 1980s, there is a lot more money going around for grants and funding to companies providing the military with new tech, and innovative combat solutions. Will the budget increase have a massive impact? We'll see. Do you think this boost to the industry will trickle down to SMEs, or be tied up in big contracts to Lockheed, Boeing, and BAE? #generalelection #ukdefence #uknews

Society as a Fundamental Input to Defence Capability | David Hood Well worth a read. The Government and Defence needs to be engaging Australian society on our current strategic challenges and how we collectively address them. ‘both history and the current strategic climate dictate the need to expand the conceptual aperture further and identify society as a fundamental input to capability’ https://lnkd.in/g6YhiVrk

In this Memorandum, Joshua Huminski examines the Strategic Defence Review from an American perspective. ‘The US will look at the SDR to see where the UK stands and where the country fits into America’s defence calculus’👇 You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/g3iG8yeb #BritainsWorld #Memorandum

An insightful FT article by Sylvia Pfeifer on an important topic. The UK accounts for 20% of all European defence capability and has a long history of jointly developing military capabilities with European partners. Defence supply chains are also deeply integrated across Europe - including the UK. Furthermore, European defence companies Leonardo, Airbus, Thales, Rheinmetall, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce all have significant UK and the EU footprints. MBDA - by far Europe’s largest missiles company - has Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo as its shareholders. It's clear Europe will have to bear more of the burden for its own defences whatever the outcome of the US presidential election in November. One key underpinner of this is a strong, suitably sized defence industry across Europe, including the UK. Given the security threats Europe faces, we simply can’t afford to be erecting new barriers to EU-UK defence industrial cooperation. But that’s exactly what's happening in EU defence instruments due to unworkable third country rules.