Numerous European countries are jointly planning the development of a new air defense system. The “European Sky Shield Initiative” is intended to close gaps in the current protective shield – and is obviously also an interesting option for Austria. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner has now announced Austria’s participation in the initiative.
“Everyone is delighted that Austria will be taking part,” said Tanner yesterday after talks with her German counterpart Boris Pistorius on the fringes of an EU meeting. If the minister has her way, participation should be finalized as early as July. Until then, Tanner wants to “closely examine” a non-binding letter of intent and sign it if necessary. This is the “next important step”, according to the Defense Minister.
“Everyone is very pleased that Austria will be involved.
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Verteidigungsministerin Klaudia Tanner
The Sky Shiel initiative was born out of the desire of many European countries to increase cooperation at security and military level, but for a long time most of them continued to cook their own soup. As a result of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine the willingness to cooperate has increased significantly. A few months ago, on the initiative of Germany, more than a dozen EU states agreed a declaration of intent to establish a joint European air defense system. The aim of this “European Sky Shield Initiative” (ESSI for short) is to “achieve political, financial and technological synergies”. Specifically, new weapon systems are to be purchased jointly and current gaps in the European protective shield are to be closed. There are currently deficits, particularly in the defense against drones and cruise missiles as well as close-range air strikes, but especially in the area of ballistic missiles that reach high altitudes on their trajectory. In addition, the focus is to be increasingly directed towards threats from Russia. Until now, missile defense in Europe has mainly been directed towards Iran. https://militaeraktuell.at/fuer-ein-heer-mit-zukunft/ According to Tanner, Sky Shield is an “absolutely necessary European response to protect our airspace.” It would be “difficult for individual countries to manage and do this effectively”, she added. Austria is interesting not least because of its geographical location, as it lies at a crossroads between the threats from the east and south. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz even goes one step further. For him, the initiative – if implemented – could be a “security gain for the whole of Europe”. And it would be “more cost-effective and more efficient” than if each country built up its own air defense. In addition to Germany, the UK, Belgium, Norway, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Romania and Slovenia, Sky Shield could also be of interest to other countries – including Austria. According to Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner, Austria’s participation has been under consideration for some time. “In terms of constitutional law, there are certainly opportunities for closer cooperation, and we have obtained a number of expert opinions on this. Austria already has a lot of cooperation with Germany, which took the initiative for Sky Shield. It would also make sense to make joint investments in air defense.
As far as the financing of Austrian participation is concerned, however, this would require additional budget funds and we are not yet at that stage”, said the Minister at the end of last year in an interview with Militär Aktuell.
“Sky shield will be a cost-effective and powerful security asset for the whole of europe.
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Deutschlands Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz
According to experts, neutrality would not stand in the way of a potential commitment. Joint procurement as part of the Sky Shield initiative “does not absolve us from continuing to carry out our active airspace surveillance independently”, explained Tanner with regard to the constitution. The initiative is a supplement to this and will indirectly improve Austria’s protection. https://militaeraktuell.at/gdels-steyr-ueberholt-bundesheer-ulan/ In any case, the moment for participation seems favorable, as the Austrian Armed Forces are currently planning the procurement of a new medium-range air and missile defense system anyway. Germany and the other “Sky Shield countries” are primarily considering the purchase of the Israeli Arrow 3 system as well as Patriot and Iris-T SLM systems in order to maximize interoperability. Initial results and concrete implementation strategies are to be presented “in the near future”. When asked about the costs, Tanner explained: “In any case, this is a project that would require a lot more in terms of budget”. However, she had already held talks with the Minister of Finance. She did not give any concrete figures. One problem for a possible Austrian participation could be (see report on this) the planned integration of all Sky Shield systems into the NATO command structure, Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), of NATO. The IAMD is an important component of the Alliance’s deterrence and defense strategy.
