Facing Coming Storms #23: After the Summit – Europe’s Defence industrial base
Episode description: Can Europe’s fragmented defence industry meet the demands of a shifting geopolitical landscape? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Stuart Dee from RAND Europe joins Peter Apps to unpack the NATO summit in The Hague, where pledges to raise defence spending to 3.5%–5% of GDP signal a bold shift. They discuss why large budgets fail to deliver, hindered by a splintered industrial base.
From Germany’s post-2022 rearmament to balancing tanks with tech like quantum computing, they explore innovative approaches like Helsing’s “resilience factories”, alongside challenges like the UK’s nuclear submarine goals and Ukraine’s agile drone industry.
About the podcast: Facing Coming Storms is the new international defence podcast from the British Army’s Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research and the Project for the Study of the 21st Century. From confrontation to conflict, join us each Monday for insightful discussions, conversations and expert analysis. Facing Coming Storms is produced by Urban Podcasts.
