European air defence faces economic strain as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have highlighted the evolution of air warfare, according to Shephard reporting on the Designed for Advantage podcast series.
The security landscape has shifted. Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have highlighted the evolution of air warfare, bringing uncrewed aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and hypersonics into focus. European military planners had previously been slow to pick up some technological changes, with debate remaining largely dominated by big platforms, big ships, and main battle tanks. Filling capability gaps has emerged as one of the biggest challenges for policymakers.
The Rising Economic Toll of Intercepting Low-Cost Threats
The economic challenges of air defence were highlighted on 15 September. An unmanned aerial vehicle that had flown into Lithuanian airspace was intercepted by Italian fighter jets operating under NATO’s air policing mission, with initial findings suggesting it originated in Belarus. Repeatedly deploying fighter aircraft against low-cost UAVs raised questions about the economics of air defence. Public finances across the UK and Europe are under pressure, and there are limited stockpiles.
The podcast featured insights from former UK Defence Secretary and former Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) chairman Lord John Hutton regarding these fiscal strains. Hutton noted that military planners must study the economics of the air domain very closely.
“We’ve got to study the economics of the air domain very, very closely and I think that’s particularly true for the emerging technology around laser weapon systems,” Hutton said. “These offer not just a way of managing complicated stockpiles and manpower associated with big, heavy, technologically challenging weapon systems, but the question of an almost inexhaustible supply of ammunition, which I think you’re going to need.”
Deploying Directed Energy Across Allied Airspace
Directed-energy weapons, including high-energy lasers, represent a potential layer within an integrated air defence architecture, presenting an option to counter menaces like drone swarms without relying solely on fighter jets. These offer a pretty limitless supply of ammunition. Hutton emphasized that these systems must help protect critical national infrastructure and forward-deployed forces on the ground who are going to come under attack, particularly from drones.
Across Europe and across NATO, there is not much by way of deployed high-energy laser weapon systems. Collaborative frameworks and industrial partnerships provide an ideal platform for mobilising resources and addressing capability gaps without designing things from scratch.
Modernizing Procurement for a Compressed Timeline
Traditional procurement timelines may not be suited to Europe’s current security environment. During the Cold War, allied countries had the luxury of time because there was a limited prospect of heavy conventional fighting in Europe, and complex platforms could take decades to move from inception to production. The current security environment requires a different procurement mindset.
| Operational Era | Procurement Mindset | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|
| Cold War | Decade-long development cycles | Strategic predictability and phased modernization |
| Recent Conflicts (Iraq/Afghanistan) | Urgent Operational Requirements | Rapid industry engagement and agile delivery |
| Current Security Environment | Accelerated political authorization | Imminent peer-adversary deterrence |
Hutton argued that the UK MoD and allies must pivot back to the mindset deployed during recent campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the UK moved very quickly to much more agile procurement. Unlocking this capability requires political leaders to give the green light and the resources to procure. National leaders must mandate and resource accelerated acquisitions if allied airspace is to be secured.
