NATO’s Allied Transformation Command (ACT) Commander, Admiral Pierre Vandier, has given an interview to Defense News, in which he states that Europe is lagging behind in the development of military technologies. New weapon developments take so long that the new military equipment is already outdated by the time it is delivered to the forces, he notes.
As an example, Vandier mentions the production of tanks. Initially, all military engineers would work on the project for years to determine the design of the new combat vehicles, only to have a contract signed and the industry work on it for another ten years, he explains.
In the context of transforming and adapting NATO structures to new circumstances, the French Admiral, responsible for the transformation and adaptation of NATO structures in Norfolk, Virginia, elaborates:
“At the end, you have a tank where you’re not even sure if it fulfills its tasks, as things have changed. New technologies had time to prove themselves. A lot of money was spent to have a platform that’s outdated from the ground up. And all that, simply because the development time was too long.”
According to the NATO Commander, the development time for technologies is approximately two to three years, which is ten times faster than the “large, controlled procurement system in Europe”.
Vandier also notes that it is not possible to accelerate the development of larger combat equipment, such as aircraft, tanks, or ships, as their production always takes decades. Moreover, the development of new technologies in areas like optoelectronics, artificial intelligence, communication, and software needs to be accelerated.
This is not the first time the Admiral has criticized Europe’s approach to the arms industry. Looking at demands on European weapons manufacturers, he stated in an interview in November that Europe will fail in the future arms competition if it continues to follow the rules it has set for itself.