The Operational Challenge of Climate Change for European Land Forces

Climate change has evolved into a standalone threat. This is changing the role and mission of European land forces, as they are increasingly required to perform humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, as well as partake in conflicts that are exacerbated through climate change. This climate phenomenon is straining the personnel of European land forces, as they are forced to train and operate under more extreme weather conditions, such as above-average heat. Their equipment is also proving inadequate to respond to these new requirements. European land forces, and Europe’s militaries in general, must cooperate and communicate in order to find common solutions to the challenge of climate change.

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Toward a European System-of-Systems: Achieving Seamless Data Interoperability Between Sixth-Generation Fighter Projects (GCAP & FCAS)

Europe is fielding two sixth‑generation fighter families, the UK‑Italy‑Japan Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) and the Franco‑German‑Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS), to reclaim strategic autonomy following F‑35 kill‑switch and data-sharing concerns. This InfoFlash frames interoperability as the decisive variable, defines the pan‑European combat cloud, and maps overlaps between GCAP, FCAS, and enabling standards such as Link16, ESSOR, EICACS and EPIIC. Making the two projects interoperable would allow Europe to fuse compress decision cycles and deny hostile vetoes over its airpower. Risks of fragmentation emerge if divergent architectures, EU–UK/Japan divides, or legacy dependencies persist. Recommendations call for a NATO‑anchored Combat Cloud Waveform task force, a federated digital‑twin lab chain, and a GCAP‑FCAS board to translate study outputs into flight‑verified standards before 2030. Achieving interoperability by design would secure European sovereignty and coalition effectiveness.

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On-Orbit Satellite Servicing Technologies – Towards European Space Defence Autonomy

This research paper explores the role of on-orbit satellite servicing (OOS) technologies for the acceleration of European space autonomy. By assessing the global historical evolution of OOS, with a particular focus on the United States, China, and Russia, the paper establishes an overview of current OOS technologies and their growing strategic relevance. It finds that while in comparison to other global space actors, European OOS capacities have historically been underdeveloped, investments in OOS offer a cost-efficient opportunity to significantly bolster European autonomy. With recent changes in European defence policy and an increased focus on space as a strategic domain, new opportunities have emerged to close the resulting capability gap. Examining European projects such as ClearSpace-1, RISE, and EROSS+, the analysis concludes that expanding investments in private-public partnerships between governments and commercial providers are the most efficient path towards expanding European OOS capabilities.

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