Arming Europe Without US Weapons? - April 1st Special Equipping

One of the great challenges European defence planners face is that defence procurement across the bloc is highly fragmented. There is no single Europe wide force or procurement effort to generate the kind of scales and efficiencies the USA, Russia or the PRC can.

But what if there was?

It's as close to April 1 as we're going to get this year, and so by popular vote, today we're taking a lighthearted look at the question of whether you could equip a pan-European Defence Force without importing any American platforms or major systems.

Is all of Europe agreeing to standardise their equipment realistic? no.

But does it illustrate some interesting points about the capabilities and limits of Europe's Defence Industry? Let's find out...

Patreon:
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Reading and Sourcing:

Sources, in an April 1 style episode?

Caveats & Comments:
Unfortunate these are still required for a joke episode, but here we go:

All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions.

Any content relating to the conduct, views, activities or any aspect of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters or any matters in relation to that person or character.

Care has been taken in compiling data, quotes, and other inputs from various sources but errors can occur. Quotes and included data should be considered, at most, indicative.

Timestamps:
00:00:00 — Opening Words
00:01:22 — What Am I Talking About?
00:01:54 — the Brief
00:06:02 — Force Design
00:10:35 — the Navy
00:26:08 — the Air Force
00:30:08 — What About the UK?
00:38:30 — the Ground Forces
00:58:57 — Covering the Last Few Participants
01:00:39 — Conclusions
01:04:29 — Channel Update