Since 2022, the relationship between the US defence industry and its European allies has evolved significantly. Europe’s threat perception has radically changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, accelerating a mindset shift towards deterrence, resilience, readiness and industrial capacity.
NATO allies are increasing defence spending, replenishing stockpiles and placing greater emphasis on ensuring that critical capabilities can be produced, sustained and upgraded at scale.
“European governments increasingly expect industrial participation, sovereign capability, local manufacturing, sustainment capacity and technology collaboration as integral elements of any long-term defence relationship,” explains Dr. Dennis Göge, Chief Executive and Vice President, Europe, at Lockheed Martin.
“Lockheed Martin recognises this and was one of the first companies to meet today’s expectation that defence suppliers should be present in the markets they sell to — whether partnering with domestic defence companies as we do in countries such as Germany, Italy, Norway or Finland, or running our own manufacturing facilities as we do in the UK and Poland, investing in facilities and employing European workforces.”
Expanding partnerships with European industry
Dr. Göge notes that the company will continue to invest in genuine strategic partnerships with European industry because it believes these capabilities are essential to NATO’s long-term readiness and resilience.
He points out that success will increasingly depend on factors such as co-development, technology collaboration and Alliance-wide interoperability.
“Building together for today and the future will enable European and NATO allies to operate together effectively and with common purpose,” says Dr. Göge.
“This is why the F-35 program is so successful. This is currently the most advanced and connected fighter aircraft in the world, forming the cornerstone of air superiority and interoperability within NATO.
“It not only provides a highly capable platform to multiple allies, but it also involves many of those nations’ industries in the manufacture of this platform, often at the component and subsystem level across the supply chain where critical technologies, engineering expertise and innovation are developed.
“That is where industrial capacity is built, and where long-term capability and resilience are sustained in individual nations and across alliances.”
How to close the gap between innovation and operational capability
Advanced technology is central to defence innovation. But success also requires aligned funding, agile procurement and industrial capacity in order to scale solutions rapidly.
“Innovation at speed” is now a phrase that appears in almost every defence strategy document across NATO. From an industry perspective, this isn’t simply about moving faster through existing processes, however. It requires building the conditions that allow for rapid adaptation before a formal requirement is issued.
One way that Lockheed Martin ensures that its high-in-demand capabilities can be manufactured faster and in more quantity is through innovative co-production agreements with its industrial partners.
For instance, it has an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with integrated technology group Rheinmetall to establish a Centre of Excellence for European Security in Germany for the manufacture of missiles.
“Cooperations will be key to increasing the pace of manufacture to ensure strong inventories and security of supply across Europe,” explains Göge.
“A great example is the F-35 aircraft. Twenty-five per cent by value of every F-35 built is produced in Europe. Among others, we are partnering with Rheinmetall in Germany, Patria in Finland and BAE Systems in the UK to produce major aspects of every F-35 sold around the world, and with Leonardo we are operating a F-35 final assembly and checkout facility (FACO) in Cameri, Italy.”
Strengthening the defence industrial base — and allied readiness
The most resilient defence supply chain model is a trusted, diversified and interoperable industrial network that combines global scale with sovereign national capability
In today’s defence sector, supply chain security is a core element of national security.
For Göge, the best way to optimise supply chain resilience is with a trusted, diversified and interoperable industrial network — one that combines global scale with sovereign national capability.
“A globally connected supply chain provides scale, innovation and surge capacity, while local industrial participation strengthens readiness, supports national economies and gives governments confidence that critical capabilities can be sustained when they are needed most,” he says.
Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Jim Taiclet has repeatedly argued that NATO’s advantage comes from allies being able to “work as one force,” enabled by common standards, shared industrial capacity across North America and Europe — and interoperable systems.
Certainly, interoperability of military platforms is an important issue currently, as these facilitate the sharing of information and data among allies.
One example is the company’s F-35 aircraft, which is able to swiftly sift and share data from systems such as Military Satellite Communications to forces on land and sea operating compatible interoperable platforms such as Aegis-enabled frigates or effectors such as THAAD and PAC-3 missile systems.
Autonomy and interdependence are not mutually exclusive
However, recently, with political momentum behind European strategic autonomy growing, governments have been building more domestic supply chains.
Yet autonomy doesn’t mean jettisoning transatlantic interdependence, says Dr. Göge. On the contrary: the Alliance is enhanced when greater European investment in defence production, sustainment and innovation is connected to a broader transatlantic ecosystem.
“The real challenge is not autonomy versus interdependence but ensuring that Europe’s growing defence-industrial capacity reinforces allied readiness,” he notes.
“If European investment produces more manufacturing capacity, stronger supply chains, faster sustainment and greater operational resilience while maintaining common standards and interoperability, it strengthens both European sovereignty and NATO’s collective deterrence.
“The tension only emerges if industrial policies create fragmentation, duplication or barriers that reduce the ability of allied forces and industries to operate together.”
Shortening the path from concept to deployment
Digital engineering is another key element of rapid adaptation.
Indeed, the company has consistently demonstrated that digital engineering enables design, manufacturing and sustainment teams to work from a common data environment, reducing rework, accelerating testing and shortening the path from concept to deployment.
Its strategic investment arm, Lockheed Martin Ventures, has partnered with more than 120 companies globally to develop emerging technologies that will shape the next generation of defence and aerospace capabilities.
To ensure commercially derived capabilities can be rapidly inserted into defence programmes, the company is also leading in the development and adoption of cloud computing, 5G, autonomy, data analytics and AI.
In fact, the company has been working with AI for decades to ensure its systems are smarter, more secure and more interconnected.
“Ultimately, innovation at speed is less about accelerating individual programmes and more about creating a defence ecosystem that can continuously evolve,” says Dr. Göge.
“The organisations that succeed will be those that invest early, experiment continuously and arrive at the customer’s problem with solutions already in development rather than waiting for a requirement document to appear.”
This article contains paid for content provided by Lockheed Martin.
