Drones, missiles in Ukraine war expose gaps in Europe’s air defences after decades of complacency
- Europeans largely dropped the powerful defences once designed to protect Nato forces from Soviet aircraft after the Cold War ended
- But the extensive use of drones and missiles in Ukraine has prompted countries like Germany and France to spend billions on air defence revamp
Anti-air systems are likely to have a starring role at the Paris Air Show starting on Monday, predicts Richard Aboulafia, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory.
“You’re going to see a lot of talk about production capacity for missiles. The market for missiles is easily the fastest growing segment of the industry and yet the manufacturers simply can’t keep up,” Aboulafia said.
Western countries had enjoyed total mastery of the skies since the end of the Cold War and largely dropped the powerful defences once designed to protect Nato forces from Soviet aircraft.
France got rid of eight of its nine anti-aircraft artillery regiments, MPs flagged up in a recent report.
But Nato countries have been turning to air defence again in recent years as more states have acquired cruise missiles, short-range ballistic missiles and drones, said Mark Cancian, a retired US marine colonel who is a senior adviser at the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).