Europe, Deterrence and Long-Range Strike

It turns out Europe’s favourite American import isn’t fast food or Netflix. It’s missiles, and Europe needs to start making its own. Eight weeks into the second Trump administration, European leaders are finally aware that they need to take ownership of the continent’s conventional security. Current discussions grappling with the question of what that looks like in practice evoke long-standing debates about Europe’s well-documented capability gaps. Moving forward, the debate should shift towards the question of what it takes for Europeans to engage in high-end combat operations against Russia. The hardest test will not be in the size of armies and nuclear sharing agreements — even though these may prove important — but in Europe’s ability to engage and destroy high-value military targets at operational and strategic depth without US support.