The conflict in Ukraine has acted as a catalyst for defense budgets in Europe. Countries like Germany, Poland, and the Nordic ones have announced drastic increases in their military spending, exceeding 2% of GDP in many cases. This shift, justified as a need for collective security, allows for strengthening armies and acquiring weapon systems that in a previous context would have generated more intense social debate.
Massive Acquisition of Advanced Defense Systems 🚀
The new funds are allocated to high-tech programs. There is a clear interest in air defense systems like the Patriot or the IRIS-T SLM, attack and surveillance drones, and latest-generation fighters like the F-35. Additionally, modernization of cyber defense and electronic warfare is prioritized. This process accelerates the obsolescence of equipment inherited from the Cold War and redefines NATO's deterrence capabilities on the eastern flank.
Peace was so boring that we went back to tanks 🤔
It's curious how a continent that had soft power as its flag now seriously discusses missile density per square kilometer. The same parliaments that stalled the purchase of a plane due to its cost now approve packages of billions in minutes. Perhaps the true European project was, after all, to have a common army, but we needed a war excuse to admit it without blushing.