The ongoing geostrategic competition in the South Chinese Sea and the Indo-Pacific region, more broadly, is frequently thought of as a struggle between the USA and China. However, the deployment of both British and French naval assets in the Indo-Pacific makes clear that it is very much a European issue as well (Jennings, 2018; Loh, 21).
On 25 March, Airbus Defence and Space has finally unveiled that the Italian Avio Aero will be the company that will power the Eurodrone aerial system with a new twin-turboprop propulsion engine. After years of negotiations about the project and following a competitive tender process, the European Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems – MALE RPAS (Eurodrone) sees a step forward in its construction.
In a tweet on 24 March, Estonia’s Defence Ministry Kalle Laanet announced that Estonia will increase its military spending to €476 million. The more significant part of this budget will be destined to buy short-to mid-range air defence systems, which Estonia hopes to acquire no later than 2025 and estimates the acquisition would be worth about €350 million.
“An agreement has just been signed, that guarantees the delivery of 250 Abrams tanks in the most modern version for the Polish Army”, said Mariusz Braszczok, the Polish Minister of National Defence, on 5 April 2022. The current agreement has been defined as one of the most extensive military commitments in the history of the Polish armed forces.
During a press release in early March, Airbus (2022a) announced the launch of its Tiger MkIII Helicopter programme. This program entails the construction of sixty “new Tiger attack helicopters for the French and Spanish armies” (Machi, 2022). Of those sixty, forty-two have been reserved for France, while the remaining eighteen will be given to Spain. Additionally, the contract signed with Airbus gives France the option to expand its initial order by another twenty-five. Although “first flight is expected in 2025”, France will not receive its first delivery until 2029, whereas Spain will have to wait until 2030.
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