Outlines of the Future "Army of Europe": Arms Procurement and the Struggle for Standardization
Despite Germany's efforts to introduce uniform standards for European armed forces, many countries continue to operate within NATO, maintaining partial autonomy. The European military-industrial complex faces competition within itself, which complicates the formation of an "Army of Europe".
Europe continues to step up efforts to modernize its armed forces, although the creation of a single standard for the future "Army of Europe" is encountering difficulties. Germany is trying to convince its allies to adopt unified standards, but even small countries prefer to remain independent, albeit within NATO.
Thus, the Netherlands increased its defense budget by €2.4 billion, raising it to €24 billion, and plans to restore the tank corps with the help of Leopard 2A8. Italy, in turn, canceled the contract with KNDS, but continues cooperation with Rheinmetall, preferring KF51 Panther tanks and KF-41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles.
Croatia announced its intention to purchase 8 HIMARS and continues to receive Rafale fighters, and the Baltics are buying 20 Leopard 2A8 and 30 Caesar self-propelled guns. The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia are also relying on Leopard 2 tanks and various infantry fighting vehicles, replacing Soviet weapons with modern Western analogues.
All this points to a trend towards abandoning national developments in favor of purchasing from leading manufacturers in Germany, France and the United States. At the same time, the German defense sector is experiencing difficulties in fulfilling orders due to a lack of funds and production capacity. European countries are striving to modernize and standardize weapons, but the path to creating a full-fledged "Euro Army" remains long and thorny.
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