Roberto Cingolani, head of Leonardo, said the war in Ukraine is a wake-up call for the European arms industry and that countries and companies operating in the region need to increase defense cooperation.
“A fragmented system in which all 27 EU countries invest in their own tanks and fighters does not work. Some say it is not ideal from the point of view of national sovereignty, but we need to look at it from a global point of view,” Cingolani said. .
In December Leonardo and the Franco-German consortium KNDS announced that they would begin developing the next-generation tank. The aim of the project is to replace the Leclerc and Leopard 2 tanks, the Financial Times reported.
“When there are many companies investing in different projects, the average investment remains small. This means that European programs are smaller than US ones,” Cingolani said.
According to Cingolani, the EU has too strict rules which limit the development of the defense sector. He added that energy prices and labor costs are rising in Europe, so investors are looking more to China and the United States.
It was recently revealed that Britain, Italy and Japan will develop a new fighter. The British Bae Systems, the Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Leonardo are involved in the development of the project. According to Cingolani, the Leonardo program could also expand to Asia.
2024-01-04 06:20:00
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