Europe's long-range strike project nears choice of lead contractors
PARIS — The six European countries cooperating on a conventional long-range, ground-launched strike capability may announce the lead companies for the project in June, according to one of the co-authors on a French parliamentary report on the state of artillery.
The European Long-range Strike Approach (ELSA) coalition has identified 13 development pillars, and in June is expected to define who is responsible for what, said Jean-Louis Thiériot, a French deputy who sits on the National Assembly's defense committee, in a hearing here last week.
The lead on each segment will be determined based on a 'best athlete' approach, Thiériot said. France will play a 'major role' through rocket builder Ariane Group for the ballistics segment, according to the lawmaker, who struck an optimistic tone about progress on ELSA.
'What is very interesting about this project is that it is indeed a coalition of volunteers and sovereign states, and it has been achieved without getting bogged down in the bureaucratic red tape that can often be encountered in more bureaucratic forms of cooperation,' Thiériot said.
'We are really at the beginning, but something is working,' he added.
France, Germany, Poland and Italy signed a letter of intent on the long-range strike initiative at a NATO summit in Washington in July 2024, with Sweden and the U.K. joining in October.
European NATO members have a capability gap in long-ranged strike compared with Russia, which operates several ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of between 500 kilometers and 2,500 kilometers, and capable of hitting targets across Europe, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies
France's current lack of a land-based, deep-strike capability creates a risk of nuclear deterrence being circumvented, with a gap between the lower threshold of nuclear deterrence and the maximum of what the conventional forces can do, according to the parliamentary report. ELSA could address that gap, with a capability separate from France's plans to replace its rocket artillery.
Thiériot said there is political will to move forward on ELSA, combined with 'manufacturers who will not get involved in cumbersome mechanisms such as the European Defence Fund, where you have to find the necessary number of partners, which means that you end up taking the SME that makes bolts to make ailerons.'
'There is a real desire for efficiency,' the deputy said. 'It's something that can work, both in the French interest and in the European interest, so it really seems like a good model to me. We'll talk about it again in a year.'
Ariane Group, MBDA, Safran and Thales all either didn't immediately respond to requests for comment, or had no immediate comment. MBDA has proposed its Land Cruise Missile, a land-based version of the company's Missile de Croisière Naval, as a short-term solution for ELSA.
Ballistic and cruise-missile technologies each have comparative advantages, and ideally both technologies would be developed for strike capability in the range of 1,500 to 2,000 kilometers, the report said. Ballistic tech primarily focuses on fixed targets, while cruise missiles allow for precision strikes on fixed or mobile targets.
The ground-based, long-range strike capability would be a useful complement to existing air and sea-launched cruise missiles, according to the report. Diversifying delivery systems would significantly increase options available to political decision makers and provide an additional offensive vector for possible escalation management.
'The commitment of all joint strike assets at great depth would make it possible to combine trajectories and saturate the enemy's defenses at specific points, forcing them into dilemmas,' the French artillery report said.
The deep strike capabilities of the French Navy and Air Force face constraints due to air defenses and access denial. A land-based system could offer greater flexibility, including for opportunistic targeting, according to the report.
Feedback from hearings and visits to Ukraine suggests interception of ground-based ballistic missiles by air defenses remains very low, 'significantly lower' than for cruise missiles, according to Thiériot. If one technology were to be chosen due to budgetary constraints, developing ground-based ballistic technology for land-based long-range strike is more important, the report stated.
'I would add that the ideal solution would be to do both,' Thiériot said.
France's work on nuclear deterrence and ballistic strike capability means it has companies such as Ariane Group able to 'quickly master these capabilities,' Thiériot said.
Meanwhile, French defense manufacturer Turgis Gaillard on Wednesday announced a truck-mounted long-range strike system dubbed Foudre, able to fire both French and allied munitions, with the company saying it will present the system at the Paris Air Show in June.
France's Directorate General for Armament is already working with a consortium of Safran and MBDA and another of Ariane Group and Thales to develop a tactical strike capability in the 150-kilometer range to replace the French Army's remaining fleet of decades-old rocket launchers.
Turgis Gaillard has presented its system as complementary to what is being developed with the DGA, as the launcher would be able to fire the munitions developed by the two consortiums, according to Matthieu Bloch, a member of parliament and co-author of the artillery report.
Bloch said fire control and missiles for the launcher are critical and require a sovereign solution, whereas chassis and launch pods are non-critical elements.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What UK's Strategic Defense Review means for Ukraine
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on June 2 that the United Kingdom is moving to "warfighting readiness," in large part in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the threat Russia poses to Europe. He made the comment as his government unveiled its latest Strategic Defense Review, which U.K. General Richard Barrons, one of the review's authors, described as the "most profound" change in U.K. defense in 150 years. The review sets out ambitious new targets, including at least 12 new attack submarines, fleets of drones and autonomous vehicles, as well as 7,000 new long-range weapons. Yet it also comes with urgent warnings. The review reveals that the U.K.'s Armed Forces are currently unprepared to fight adversaries such as Russia or China, nor could they conduct high-intensity warfare in a war like that in Ukraine. Insufficient munition stockpiles, low troop numbers, and ageing equipment are just a few of the weaknesses underpinning its assessment. "The speed of development in Ukraine is so far ahead of what countries like the U.K. is capable of." But as well as committing to bolstering its own defense capabilities, the U.K. must also manage the commitments already made to Kyiv, which it has vowed to support with a "100-year partnership." The U.K. has been one of Kyiv's closest supporters since the start of the full-scale invasion, and the review reiterates long-term support for Ukraine, committing 3 billion pounds ($4.06 billion) annually in military aid. "The bottom line is that all of this is about defending the U.K. after the conflict moves on from Ukraine primarily," Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House, a U.K.-based think tank, told the Kyiv Independent. "Whether it's positive, negative, or catastrophic, either way, that's when the U.K. and its allies need to be ready for Russia's next move." The U.K. wants to create a more flexible procurement process, as demonstrated by that developed by Ukraine throughout the full-scale invasion, a dynamic it says would be vital should the U.K. deploy troops in support of a ceasefire. The review urges deeper defense industrial collaboration, including joint ventures and helping Ukraine access global markets, as well as rebuilding and sustaining its defense sector. This could include helping Ukraine service Soviet-era equipment still used abroad. The U.K. also aims to learn from Ukraine's experience in modern warfare, particularly in land combat, drones, and hybrid threats. However, the review highlights challenges — U.K. stockpiles of weapons such as Storm Shadow long-range missiles have been depleted through its support to Ukraine, and years of underinvestment have weakened domestic defense capacity. The U.K. has announced that it will build six new munition factories. This indicates a significant attempt to address one of the key criticisms of European defense, which is its lack of industrial base and reliance on U.S. support. While U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey has said that "we should expect to see new factories opening very soon," it is not clear how quickly this will translate into meaningful battlefield assistance for Ukraine's Armed Forces. "The speed of development in Ukraine is so far ahead of what countries like the U.K. are capable of, the best-case outcome for Ukraine would just be sending the money there to build stuff," Giles said. When asked how Ukraine could be best supported outside of the recommendations in the review, Giles said the "maximum support" should be given to Ukraine, without the hesitancy about doing damage to Russia." We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NATO secretary general: Russia may attack NATO within five years
Russia is building up its military capabilities and will be ready to use military force against NATO states within five years. Source: European Pravda; NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a speech at Chatham House in London on 9 June Quote: "Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years. Russia has teamed up with China, North Korea and Iran. They are expanding their militaries and their capabilities. Putin's war machine is speeding up, not slowing down. Russia is reconstituting its forces with Chinese technology and producing more weapons faster than we thought," Rutte explained. The NATO secretary general said that Russia produces as many munitions in three months as all NATO countries produce in a year. "And its defence industrial base is expected to roll out 1,500 tanks, 3,000 armoured vehicles and 200 Iskander missiles this year alone. Let's not kid ourselves. We are all on the eastern flank now. The new generation of Russian missiles travel at many times the speed of sound. The distance between European capitals is only a matter of minutes. There is no longer east or west. There is just NATO," Rutte said. Background: Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space, shared the assessment of Western intelligence that a Russian attack on EU states could occur within the next few years. The German Federal Intelligence Service believes that Russia sees itself in a systemic conflict with the West and is preparing for a major war with NATO. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Hamilton Spectator
37 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Why some Canadians are alarmed by Mark Carney's pledge to act with urgency
Canadians elected Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal government based on its pledge to act with urgency and fix things — the country's economy, its security and its standing on the world stage. But with the unveiling of a bill to supercharge the economy and early efforts to improve the country's adversarial relations with India and China, there's growing concern that Carney's plans to boost Canada could involve unsavoury trade offs. Ask Indigenous leaders who were left out of 'nation-building' meetings or were given just a week to comment on legislation that will fast track infrastructure projects reasonably expected to pass through their treaty-protected territories. Ask Sikh-Canadian leaders who have seen their members targeted for death or violence, allegedly on orders from Indian government agents. Last Friday, they listened as Carney defended his G7 invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one that 'makes sense' based on India's economic power, population and key role in international 'supply chains.' Ask foreign aid organizations, perhaps, if Canada commits to radically increasing defence spending along with NATO allies at a leaders' summit planned for later this month. Carney is not alone in his apparent willingness to step on toes if it means he can move further and faster in responding to the sense of emergency at hand. It's part of a global movement with governments invoking looming threats and emerging risks to push through all sorts of questionable — and sometimes contestable — priorities. The most blatant example is the one that has sparked the economic emergency in Canada. U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on imports have been pushed through not with legislation that can be studied, debated and voted upon, but through presidential executive orders invoking real or imagined national emergencies at the Canada-U. S. border. They are premised upon risks from America-bound migrants, fentanyl, steel and cars and, despite initial court rulings that tranches of the tariffs are illegal under U.S. law, they remain in effect. Likewise, the generalized panic that Russia's three-years-and-counting war against Ukraine has instilled in Europe. There is legitimate reason to worry about the longer-term intentions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a leader who has been unwilling to agree to a ceasefire despite sanctions, despite diplomatic isolation, despite the more recent appeals, threats and exhortations of the Trump administration. But preparations for a potentially wider conflict on the European continent now have German officials talking about rehabilitating long-abandoned bunkers, Poland vowing to build up 'the strongest army in the region,' and Swedish households receiving an alarming 32-page pamphlet from their government entitled: 'In case of crisis or war.' 'To all residents of Sweden: we live in uncertain times,' the booklet begins ominously. It goes on to cover everything from securing one's home to digital safety to instructions on how to stop bleeding to advice about handling pets and talking to children. This is the political and emotional backdrop against which Canada and other NATO member states later this month are expected to back an agreement to steeply increase in their national defence budgets, moving to five per cent of GDP from two per cent. If agreed to, it will result in many billions of dollars going to weapons, tanks, planes and soldiers' salaries. But before those purchases can go ahead, there will be many difficult choices made about how to come up with the funds. Governments always talk about finding budget efficiencies for unexpected priorities, though saving is not a specialty for which politicians are well suited. Even Donald Trump and Elon Musk came up spectacularly short of their savings pledges through the Department of Government Efficiency. More frequently, governments end up robbing Peter in order to pay Paul, as the saying goes — cutting spending in on domain to increase it in another. That is exactly what the United Kingdom did with blunt effect when it announced earlier this year that it would slash foreign aid spending drastically in order to increase the defence budget. 'Few countries have articulated such a direct, one-to-one trade off before between those two areas of public spending,' noted a report from ODI Global , a think tank, that criticized the British government for thinking of defence and foreign-aid spending as an either-or choice. Similar potential trade offs are cause for concern in Canada. Will the urgency to build oil pipelines and assert the country as an 'energy superpower' in new markets come at the cost of Canada's fight against global warming? Carney's reputation as a climate-change warrior is well-established, but his use of the oil-and-gas industry's ' marketing speak ' at a recent meeting first ministers' meeting with provincial premiers has some worried about the economy taking priority over the environment. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national association representing Canadian Inuit, wasn't even invited to the first ministers' meeting, which concluded with a statement about the need to 'unlock the North's economic potential.' 'It is troubling that in 2025, the Government of Canada is so comfortable with empty rhetoric in place of rightful participation,' the Inuit association said in a news release . The legislation to get Carney's economic fast-track transformation under way — one that the Liberal government wants to pass into law by Canada Day — was decried by the Assembly of First Nations, which had just seven days to provide any concerns about the bill, APTN News reported . There are those who will defend a go-fast approach to governing in extraordinary times. They will warn that there is a greater risk in being sunk by the status quo — the never-ending consultations, the delays, red-tape entanglements. 'The advantage of a wartime mentality lies in the sense of urgency it introduces, and the readiness it encourages to push aside unnecessary bureaucratic barriers,' wrote Lawrence Freedman, an emeritus professor of War Studies at King's College London, in a piece about Russia, Ukraine and Europe. It's a line that can be applied as equally to Ottawa as to Moscow, Kyiv, Paris, Brussels or London. But one person's bureaucratic barrier is the next person's guard rail — a measure ensuring confidence, protecting against damaging errors, saving lives. Moving at high speeds, it can be difficult to spot the difference.
