A farewell to (American) arms: Europe is pushing the U.S. out of its military-industrial complex — The Insider
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ECONOMICSA farewell to (American) arms: Europe is pushing the U.S. out of its military-industrial complex<br>Nikolai Kapanadze<br>August 10, 2026
Contents<br>1.The tyranny of U.S. export controls
2.The battle for independence begins
3.Fragmentation, capital flight, and industrial inertia
4.A new strategy and financial leverage
5.Europe in space
6.Ukraine as a laboratory
7.Why not just wait for Trump to leave?
8.The defense industry as a driver of growth
A quiet revolution is underway in Europe: import substitution in the defense sector. The EU intends to free itself from American technology so it can develop and sell weapons without having to seek Washington's approval. The shift has been driven by growing disagreements with the U.S. over a range of issues — aid to Ukraine, trade tariffs, and repeated American threats to withdraw from NATO. As a result, Europe has concluded that it must invest in its own security and strategic autonomy. But money alone will not be enough. The continent also needs to bring order to its fragmented defense industry, and that will not be easy given the wide range of weapons systems in use by its various national armies and the risk that populist politicians pose to long-term planning. Meanwhile, Poland and the Baltic states have demonstrated little faith in Europe's defense-industrial independence and continue to buy American weapons. However, Brussels' new rules will require them to give preference to European manufacturers.<br>Доступно на русском
Contents<br>1.The tyranny of U.S. export controls<br>2.The battle for independence begins<br>3.Fragmentation, capital flight, and industrial inertia<br>4.A new strategy and financial leverage<br>5.Europe in space<br>6.Ukraine as a laboratory<br>7.Why not just wait for Trump to leave?<br>8.The defense industry as a driver of growth
The tyranny of U.S. export controls
Europe's strategic autonomy remains constrained due to the fact that it cannot independently manufacture, upgrade, or operate key weapons systems without political approval and technological support from the United States. The primary tool Washington uses to control Europe's defense industry is its International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) is a U.S. export control regime governing arms and related technologies, introduced in 1976. Under ITAR, if a product contains even a single American-made component, Washington can block, delay, or impose conditions on its export to third countries, even after the buyer has already paid for it." tabindex="0" role="button" aria-label="ITAR">ITAR). Originally intended to protect defense technologies, the regime has evolved into a tool for suppressing competition. Its key feature is the "see-through principle": if a weapon or military system contains even a minor American-made component, it falls under U.S. jurisdiction, meaning that exporting, upgrading, or even moving such equipment within a country requires approval from the U.S. State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). Washington has used this domestic legislation to block (1, 2) the delivery of France's Falcon Eye satellites to the UAE and Storm Shadow / SCALP-EG are French-British air-launched cruise missiles jointly developed under the names Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG (Système de Croisière Autonome à Longue Portée–Emploi Général; French for "General-Purpose Long-Range Autonomous Cruise Missile"). They carry a 450-kilogram warhead, while the variants supplied to Ukraine appear to have a range of no more than 300 kilometers" tabindex="0" role="button" aria-label="SCALP">SCALP missiles for Egypt's Rafale fighter jets.<br>The U.S. system for supplying defense equipment and technology to other countries through the When the United States sells weapons to other countries, transactions are conducted not directly between the buyer and the manufacturer but through the U.S. government, which acts as an intermediary. The government negotiates the terms with defense contractors and can delay deliveries for political reasons." tabindex="0" role="button" aria-label="Foreign Military Sales (FMS)">Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program has also become excessively politicized. By selling platforms such as F-35 fighter jets and Patriot air defense systems, Washington gains the ability to exert its influence over ongoing conflicts and to affect diplomatic disputes by depriving buyers of strategic flexibility.<br>Another U.S. law, the CLOUD Act, enacted in 2018, poses a direct challenge to Data sovereignty means that data is subject to the laws of the jurisdiction where it is physically stored. This principle applies to data that is stored, processed, or transmitted, regardless of the physical location of the organization that owns or uses it." tabindex="0" role="button" aria-label="data sovereignty">data sovereignty by allowing U.S. authorities...