French minister of defence Alain Richard is calling for European armaments group Occar to lead a common effort on the research and development of new weapons to counter what he sees as continued "wasteful duplication" in individual countries.
Occar (Organisation Conjoint de Cooperation en Matière d'Armament) was initiated in 1996 by France, Germany, Italy and the UK to coordinate the procurement and management of new common defence systems. Formal go-ahead of the agency was signed in 1998.
Richard says the 15 European Union members have failed to agree on common research programmes largely because individual nations still do not provide sufficient cash for research. "Occar would be a very good vehicle to provide a basis for common European research funding," he says. It would also, he adds, be useful for facilitating agreement with the USA on transatlantic cooperation on military research. But before this can happen, "European governments still have a lot of work to do," he says.
A handful of European defence programmes have already been placed under Occar management, including the French/German Tiger anti-tank helicopter and Milan, Hot, Roland and FSAF missiles; the UK/German MRAV armoured vehicle; and the French/ German/UK Cobra tactical ground-based radar. A further three programmes - the Trigat anti-tank missile, Paams ship-based anti-aircraft missile and the Horizon frigate - are due to be integrated this year. The Airbus A400M is also a candidate, but a decision on its inclusion must await formal ratification of the Occar treaty by Italy later this year.
Source: Flight International
