5 ms·
While true, it is often ignored that combined EU does possess a huge, highly advanced and well trained military force. So more than that I'd hope EU can then p
by albeva 5y ago
While true, it is often ignored that combined EU does possess a huge, highly advanced and well trained military force.
So more than that I'd hope EU can then put its squabbling aside and respong in unison to any military provocation as well.
- BrazzVuvuzela 5y agoAdvanced weapons and good training, but lacking in the force projection in the Pacific department, relative to America anyway.
- GekkePrutser 5y agoOn the other hand, we don't really have any business being there. So why would we. We're not the world police. In the EU we view the "Department of Defense" as a tool for actual defense. Not for invading the middle east for corporate benefit. We've been dragged into this several times by the US in the last decades and it's always been a huge failure and has sometimes led to worse threats (ISIS for example which was much more of a threat to us than Saddam Hussein was) A land war against China is not winnable anyway. I do think we should help Taiwan if it comes to it. But this should just come down to strategic deterrents. There's no point sending armies. By the time they get there it's too late anyway. Our main threat right now is mainly Russia. And mainly so because they view us as enemies. But having entire tank brigades like in the cold war won't do us any good. This is not how the next war will be fought.
- BrazzVuvuzela 5y agoTo be clear, I'm not faulting the EU for it. The EU should be concerned more with their own security, particularly if America gets tied up with China and is consequently less capable of helping to defend the EU against Russia.
- mantas 5y agoHow many aircraft careers does EU have? Especially after Brexit...
- qnsi 5y ago4, which is more than China has.
- angrygoat 5y agoSeven: France (4) Italy (2) Spain (1) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_carriers_in_service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_carriers_in_s...
- riku_iki 5y agothey listed helicopter carriers there (e.g. Mistral for France).
- BrazzVuvuzela 5y agoThat count is a bit deceptive, France has a single aircraft carrier with fixed-wing aircraft, the Charles de Gaulle. The other three are Mistral-class amphibious assault ships with helicopters.
- jessaustin 5y agoThe recent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh proved that the future is here, and no large asset is safe from drones. Even if carriers could deny airspace to cheap tiny airborne loitering munitions (they can't), they have no hope against the submarine variety.
- punnerud 5y agoEurope combined have more people and spend way more on military than US. On GDP Europe is lower, but they also have more than 2x the amount of people: https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/European-Union/United-States/Military https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/European-U...
- fifilura 5y agoAnd anyone who has played a couple of games of Risk knows how much that is worth...
- martin8412 5y agoSpending more doesn't mean much if you don't spend it on something worthwhile. Not to mention that the European countries don't count money spent on healthcare, education, etc for veterans as part of the military budget. The US is definitely overspending for no real benefit, except lining the pockets of defense contractors(and by that, politicians pockets)
- Iolaum 5y agoI 'd say that the EU armies look better in paper than they would in practice. One example is that several EU armies running out of precision bombs relatively early into the Libyan intervention [1]. [1]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nato-runs-short-on-some-munitions-in-libya/2011/04/15/AF3O7ElD_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nato-runs-short-on-some...
- Aeolun 5y agoAnd land armies without tanks! Last I heard the Netherlands had sold off all of theirs :/