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To synergise civil and military research, their separation should be abandoned and the so-called 'civil clauses' still enshrined in the statutes of many German universities should be reconsidered. Together with its European partners, the German government should establish joint development and procurement processes for the military. Key technologies must be systematically identified and promoted in order to avoid unilateral dependencies in these technology areas that could weaken military security. In order to counter the lack of skilled personnel, the Bundeswehr should train soldiers in such a way that they can use the knowledge they have acquired during their military service in civilian life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the challenges of the new security situation that Germany faces against the background of current geopolitical conflicts and the potential weakening of US security guarantees for Europe. The article counteracts the widespread idea that more money and more soldiers are necessary and automatically lead to an increase in military power. Instead, the article argue that the financial resources spent on the military sector need to be used more efficiently. The article discusses reform options that concern different fields, e.g. the organisation of military defence in Europe, the procurement of military equipment and the recruiting of soldiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To effectively contest the air littoral, the US Air Force will need to meet two requirements: production at scale and continuous innovation. First, operating in this subdomain against a major power adversary will require an incredible mass of small drones, loitering munitions, and counter-unmanned aerial systems that exceeds the limits of the US defense industrial base and commercial market. Second, rapid innovation beyond the current Department of Defense procurement model is needed. This article describes these challenges and their implications for Air Force operations. It recommends the development of a new paradigm with three lines of effort: a new business model focused on capabilities, not programs; investment in scaling cutting-edge technologies; and a workforce that continuously upgrades the subdomain’s systems and software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the last twenty years, the EU has made increasingly greater efforts to boost defence cooperation among MS. To strengthen the EDTIB and avoid duplication of capabilities, the EU has encouraged "European preference" in arms procurement and MS' defence collaborative projects, also by seeking to expunge defence offsets from the single market. Against this backdrop, on 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. What impact has the war in Ukraine had on EU defence cooperation? Has the war impacted MS in a similar fashion or unevenly, reinforcing defence integration dynamics for some, while kickstarting disintegration for others? Two years on, a thorough analysis of the impact of the war on EU defence cooperation is still missing. This paper fills this gap by exploring three levels of analysis – arms collaboration, arms procurement, and offsets – and by comparing pre-invasion evidence with data from the post-invasion period. The analysis suggests that the Russo-Ukrainian war has negatively impacted EU defence cooperation, potentially increasing both fragmentation and non-EU dependencies. However, although MS' threat perception and their ability to reap industrial benefits remain important to explain EU defence cooperation, integration or disintegration dynamics do not neatly map onto the geographical or size divides identified by the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a recent decision by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court in Germany regarding public procurement law and security interests in light of the Ukraine war. The court found that the security situation in Europe has changed due to Russia's attack on Ukraine, and this can be taken into account in procurement law decisions. The court's decision aligns with German Chancellor Scholz's concept of a "Zeitenwende," or historical turning point, in German defense policy. The article also provides details about the underlying procurement process and the court's reasoning for allowing exceptions to public procurement law in the case of military equipment. [Extracted from the article]

In the policy world, the idea of ideational robustness deals with why and how policy elements can be maintained over time and the implications this has for government strategy and activity. Past approaches to ideas and their influence on public policy stressed the disparate roles of multiple policy mechanisms such as path dependency or the nature of policy networks in either driving policy change forward or ensuring persistence of a policy. Ideational robustness on the other hand allows for the possibility of some changes occurring in policy environments and components while motivating cognitive and normative policy ideas are adapted and retained. While ideational persistence has often been identified as a source of policy stability, the possibility that some ideas allow lesser or greater levels of change in policy components while basic policy content remains more or less intact (ideational robustness) is much less well understood. The article reviews the literature on policy change and stability which highlights the influence of different policy processes on overall policy dynamics and the role played by policy learning in promoting ideational robustness. Using evidence from military doctrines and procurement in Canada and Australia, the study finds that the two countries drew different defence policy lessons from the end of the Cold War which contributed heavily to the extent of robustness of their defence policy ideas. The case studies show that ideational robustness is important but also that its study must be combined with that of other policy mechanisms and processes in order to explain overall policy change patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia's war against Ukraine has severely damaged the European security architecture. This article examines the consequences of this rupture for German foreign and security policy. Just a few months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Germany saw the transition to an unprecedented three-party coalition government of Social Democrats, Greens, and Liberals. In a special address to the Bundestag three days after the invasion, Chancellor Olaf Scholz described Russia's war initiation as a historical Zeitenwende ("watershed") that called into question long-held beliefs about European security. In the wake of this, Scholz proclaimed far-reaching changes, including the announcement that military expenditure would be drastically increased, additional military capabilities would be procured, and new deployments would be committed to NATO's eastern flank. This article argues that the Zeitenwende amounts to an international orientation change in German foreign and security policy. Apart from identifying areas of significant change, the article also documents political contestation over the Zeitenwende's nature and extent as well as gaps between proclaimed changes and actual implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the consideration of state regulation in the field of public procurement, in particular in the defense-industrial complex. The main law defining the basic principles and mechanisms of procurement is the Law of Ukraine «On Public Procurement». However, during the period of martial law, many changes were made in the procedures and mechanisms of public procurement, changes were already made more than once, through the adoption of separate laws and by-laws. The article analyzes the peculiarities of the application of public procurement mechanisms in certain sectors of the economy, in particular the defense-industrial complex. The necessity of modernization and improvement the procurement procedures for successful and effective compliance with the principles of competition and overcoming corruption, and other principles stipulated by legislation, is argued. Mechanisms for conducting procurement procedures are analyzed as one of the key elements of increasing the effectiveness of state economic policy, which is based, in particular, on the principles of fair competition, openness and transparency, non-discrimination of participants, objectivity and impartiality of evaluation of tender offers. It is substantiated that it is important to borrow international procurement experience to ensure compliance of national legislation with EU legislation. The issue of ensuring the appropriate level of defense capability of Ukraine in the conditions of countering full-scale military aggression on the territory of Ukraine by the Russian Federation is quite acute. A pressing challenge now is to ensure the rational spending of budget funds and the effective functioning and development of the state defense procurement system. It has been proven that the mechanism for the redistribution of budget funds should have the most transparent order of organization and the order of execution of the concluded procurement contract, which in the case of defense procurement involves reducing the number of closed procurements, excessive secrecy, increasing competitive procedures in the procurement of imported products and services, further improving pricing, canceling profit limits, accounting for inflation and life cycle cost. It is argued that consideration of physical, economic and informational security requirements is extremely important. It is about compliance with the principles of protecting customers from military threats, ensuring the simplification of public procurement by reducing the terms of the procurement procedure and simplifying the requirements for procedure participants, the effectiveness of the procurement process and the efficiency of the use of funds, primarily through the involvement of domestic entrepreneurs in tenders and ensuring the development of the domestic market, stability and defense capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the contemporary history of the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) from peacekeeping to the most recent update to Canadian defence policy, highlighting their historical roles and contemporary challenges. It discusses the evolving purpose of the CAF, which has shifted from conventional defence to supporting and reinforcing a western-led international order. It explores issues such as defence spending, procurement challenges, peacekeeping endeavors, veterans' support, diversity and inclusion within the CAF. Moreover, it explores emerging threats in cyber, space and Arctic domains, including the rise of artificial intelligence threats, and emphasises the need for Canada to adapt its defence strategies accordingly. Specific focus is given to changes in Canadian defence policy in Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE) released in 2017, and Our North, Strong and Free released in 2024. Ultimately, the article offers a critical assessment of Canada's military role in the context of evolving global challenges and societal values, highlighting the recent policy shift towards expanding national and international defence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand's potential acquisition of three Yuan-class submarines from China has sparked discussions, prompting some to view it as a strategic shift toward China. This article assesses this procurement decision within the context of Thailand's governance challenges in defense procurement and its modest maritime security goals. The article reveals that while the 2014 junta intended this purchase as a strategic message, two factors temper its significance. Firstly, Thailand maintains a unique perspective on its alliance with the US, striving for equidistant positioning among great powers. From this standpoint, obtaining Chinese submarines served as a short-term diversion of pressure, rather than a substantial realignment. Secondly, Thailand assigns relatively low priority to seapower in its military planning, mitigating the submarine purchase's automatic implication of trust in China. However, it is emphasized that Thailand does not fully control the risks stemming from efforts to maintain strategic ambiguity, such as bolstering China's logistical presence in Thailand, leading to unintended outcomes, including the weakening of the Thai-United States military alliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indonesian Air Force is directed to increase the fleet of fighter aircraft and radar units to meet Indonesia's air defense needs. Fulfilling air defense needs, especially the construction of Indonesian Air Force aircraft, requires a budget allocation from the government. Policies regarding budget allocations and their implementation certainly require more complex policies. Therefore, it is necessary to map and identify the Increased Cost of Aircraft Development for the Indonesian Air Force on the Financial Stability of Bank Indonesia (BI) in the Defense Budget. This type of research is qualitative with the method of observation, interviews and document studies. Data analysis was carried out interactively descriptive until saturated using the trangulation method. The results of the study indicate that the source of the TNI AU's defense budget comes from the APBN which is sourced from GDP, grants and foreign loans. The dynamics of increasing the defense budget in the procurement of TNI-AU aircraft depend on the dynamics of threats, availability of resources and government policies. The projected increase in the Indonesian Air Force's defense budget tends to fluctuate with an average budget change in 2018-2021 of 42%. The procurement of Indonesian Air Force aircraft is also projected to increase as a way to maintain the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia in accordance with the dynamics of the strategic environment. The defense budget affects and is influenced by the financial stability of Bank Indonesia, particularly the APBN, GDP and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goal: This article proposes a decision model based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process that allows carrying out the evaluation of alternatives in a multicriteria problem, without expert judgement. Design / Methodology / Approach: The algorithm is based on AHP. The novelty is the transformation of a performance data matrix into pairwise evaluation matrices, instead of using experts'judgement. Results: The algorithm was applied in a defense procurement problem for the choice of a light 4x4 vehicle for amphibious operations. The results allowed ranking the 17 models based on catalog data. Limitations of the investigation: the algorithm depends on the availability of catalog data, not always available in open sources in the defense industry. Practical implications: Decision support involves several activities in Operations Management and AHP has been frequently applied to solve problems in this sector. The proposed algorithm allows performing deterministic or probabilistic evaluations, depending on the degree of uncertainty and precision involving the systems' performance data. These assessments are composed of scenarios to facilitate decision making. Originality / Value: AHP typically uses experts for pairwise judgments. However, human judgment is subject to outcomes that involve bias and cognitive distortions. Few studies have modeled the AHP without experts, even so they used human judgment in some part of the process. The approach proposed here does not require human judgment and returns two different results, based on the database precision. This new approach gives decision makers a different perspective and can alter the final choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In real terms, global military spending increased by 3.7% in 2022 to a record $2240 billion. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia played a significant role in the increase in spending, with military spending in Europe rising by 13% in the year – the highest yearly increase in total European spending since the conclusion of the Cold War. Significant increases in spending by Russia and Ukraine were primarily responsible for the remarkable gain, but several other European nations also increased their military budgets in 2022. This essay examines the impact of national choices regarding sovereignty, industrial issues, and strategic needs on procurement strategies, and then measures and discusses the changes and continuities in the European procurement process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent is military technology innovation emergent? This study answers this question by applying an emergence detection algorithm to roughly 300,000 technical terms extracted from military technology patents granted from 1980 to 2019. Emergence – instances of sudden and rapid growth of a technical term within the military patent corpus – is found to vary greatly over time. Military technology innovation during the period of 1996-2008 is found to be highly emergent. This period was found to be characterized by high organization-type diversity; non-traditional vendors, traditional defense contractors, large civilian-facing firms, and individuals generated military patents containing many novel emergent technical terms. However, in recent years, military technology innovation has exhibited markedly less emergence. The period of low emergence is characterized by reduced contributions by non-traditional vendors, defense prime contractors, and individual inventors to military patents containing emergent terms. These observations suggest that policies attempting to ensure a healthy defense innovation ecosystem should seek organization-type diversity and may benefit from employing promotion strategies targeted at distinct organization types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This book comparatively analyzes global conflicts and diplomatic relations between international players, as well as the mechanisms of public diplomacy, the difficulties of peace diplomacy and hard power war. In the book, the authors pay special attention to the issues of the modern world order, relations between various geopolitical, regional and national actors in an environment of increasingly complex international relations, emerging challenges and threats. The authors pay special attention to the efforts of intergovernmental organizations, the problem of terrorism, including international terrorism, and the violation of global stability, which still remain serious challenges and threats that national states, as well as international institutions, are called upon to solve. The authors analyze various dimensions of the intensification of terrorism, military conflicts and threats to national states emanating from military blocs, and update the issues of terrorist danger and international instability. They note that this state of affairs in the world system puts on the political agenda the importance of enhanced interaction between national states with international weight, resources and capabilities. In this regard, constructive and civilized interaction of all countries in the international arena to counter terrorism and strengthen international stability is of particular relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Biden administration had an opportunity to redirect the United States' path away from all but limitless spending on the Defense Department. That path could and should have centered on the most imminent threats to our security: climate change and potentially pandemic infectious diseases. But the Biden budget is one that only a defense contractor could love; it continues spending for unproven weapon systems, unsustainable and unneeded nuclear weapons efforts, and a new Cold War with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia’s war against Ukraine has severely damaged the European security architecture. This article examines the consequences of this rupture for German foreign and security policy. Just a few months before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Germany saw the transition to an unprecedented three-party coalition government of Social Democrats, Greens, and Liberals. In a special address to the Bundestag three days after the invasion, Chancellor Olaf Scholz described Russia’s war initiation as a historical Zeitenwende (“watershed”) that called into question long-held beliefs about European security. In the wake of this, Scholz proclaimed far-reaching changes, including the announcement that military expenditure would be drastically increased, additional military capabilities would be procured, and new deployments would be committed to NATO’s eastern flank. This article argues that the Zeitenwende amounts to an international orientation change in German foreign and security policy. Apart from identifying areas of significant change, the article also documents political contestation over the Zeitenwende’s nature and extent as well as gaps between proclaimed changes and actual implementation.

Goal: This article proposes a decision model based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process that allows carrying out the evaluation of alternatives in a multicriteria problem, without expert judgement. Design / Methodology / Approach: The algorithm is based on AHP. The novelty is the transformation of a performance data matrix into pairwise evaluation matrices, instead of using experts’ judgement. Results: The algorithm was applied in a defense procurement problem for the choice of a light 4x4 vehicle for amphibious operations. The results allowed ranking the 17 models based on catalog data. Limitations of the investigation: the algorithm depends on the availability of catalog data, not always available in open sources in the defense industry. Practical implications: Decision support involves several activities in Operations Management and AHP has been frequently applied to solve problems in this sector. The proposed algorithm allows performing deterministic or probabilistic evaluations, depending on the degree of uncertainty and precision involving the systems’ performance data. These assessments are composed of scenarios to facilitate decision making. Originality / Value: AHP typically uses experts for pairwise judgments. However, human judgment is subject to outcomes that involve bias and cognitive distortions. Few studies have modeled the AHP without experts, even so they used human judgment in some part of the process. The approach proposed here does not require human judgment and returns two different results, based on the database precision. This new approach gives decision makers a different perspective and can alter the final choice.

The military conflict provoked by the Russian Federation in Ukraine has created major imbalances in international security. In this fluid and unpredictable security environment, the defence industry has reacted promptly, increasing production and export of military equipment and modern weapon systems to counterbalance the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation. The data analysed indicate the Russian Federation's continuing concern to make significant defence investments, including in the defence complex, which reveals its interest in continuing the military conflict in Ukraine. As for the Euro-Atlantic states, they are trying to counter the threat posed by the Russian Federation by supplying Ukraine with high-performance military equipment, while investing in their militaries to supplement the weapons supplied to Ukraine. After the outbreak of the military conflict in Ukraine, Romania has managed to increase its exports of arms and ammunition, creating favourable conditions for profitable partnerships with large companies in the Euro-Atlantic area. At the same time, Romania has increased its defence budget allocation to 2.5% of GDP, and there are discussions to further increase this percentage in the coming period. A substantial part of this budget allocation is earmarked for the procurement of modern military equipment to NATO standards for the Romanian armed forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States has grappled with defining the appropriate limits of government contracting throughout its history. However, this problem is not exclusive to the United States. Nearly two thousand years earlier, the ancient Roman Republic struggled with the same problem. In Rome, the Republic’s inability to define the appropriate limits of government contracting burdened Rome’s procurement system with inefficiency, conflicts of interest, and unaccountability. To avoid repeating the mistakes of former empires, the United States should make a comprehensive policy decision to define the appropriate limits for government contracting. Using a comparative analysis of current trends in the American defense procurement system and the Roman publicani, ancient Roman government contractors, this Note argues that the United States is currently following the same trends that contributed to Rome’s decline. The United States still has time to redefine the limits of government contracting, but if it does not, history may repeat itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now that European defence budgets are (finally) on the rise, Europe's military circles are faced with one issue that has not been addressed at EU level: how do they want to fight? The US-led NATO alliance rightfully coordinates all doctrinal work in Europe at the moment, but the time to discuss how soldiers and weapons function in larger operations is coming, considering the US's gradual withdrawal amid increasing turmoil in the neighbourhood. Having these field concepts in place would demonstrate the determination and cohesiveness of the Europe of today while shaping the military procurement of tomorrow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the primary measures to improve state's economic policy in the field of concluding and executing defense contracts in wartime conditions. The purpose of the article is to determine promising directions for the coordination of contractual and organizational aspects of the wartime state economic policy in order to increase the production and supply of military and related products to the Defense Forces. It was established that the unlimited duration of the Russian-Ukrainian war requires the transfer of the economy to mobilization rails and the construction of a rational model of contractual relations between the state and business entities while ensuring the needs of national defense. Directions for revising the mechanisms of state contact of defense products are proposed, taking into account the experience of the USA and Great Britain during the Second World War regarding "cost-plus contracts" and "cost-plus-fixed-reward" contracts, which increase business interest in the accelerated production of weapons, ammunition and related goods. It was concluded that the transformation of the defense order system should involve a combination of contractual and organizational means of ensuring the fulfillment of the state defense order. This requires expanding the obligations of state customers to protect production and provide executors of state defense orders with underground storage facilities, centralized technology transfer, state assistance in purchasing raw materials, coordination of supply chains, elimination of customs barriers, certification and permits, creation of quality control infrastructure, etc. To implement these ideas, it is proposed to expand the provisions of the Economic Code of Ukraine regarding the organizational component of concluding contracts on state defense orders. It is substantiated that the decodification proposed by draft law No. 6013 "On the peculiarities of the regulation of business activity of certain types of legal entities and their associations in the transition period" directly contradicts the needs of implementing the state defense order, weakening the role of the state in the economy and provoking economic instability. It was determined that it is necessary to strengthen the ability of economic legislation to meet the needs of the military economy, including by returning to the institution of state tasks, which was excluded from the Civil Code of Ukraine in 2005 and which should be deemed mandatory for business entities all forms of ownership during martial law. After all, it is able to direct the state's economic policy during the war to increase the defense capability and the efficiency of the use of limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free and undistorted competition are objectives of the EU internal market. EU rules on competition, public procurement and trade defense instruments play an important role in ensuring fair conditions for companies who are doing business in the EU. However, none of these rules and instruments apply to third-country subsidies which provide their recipientswhen acquiring companies active in the EU), participating in public procurements in the EU or engaging in other commercial activities in the EU. This regulatory gap is now to be closed by a new EU regulation91 which enters into force at the end of 2022 and apply from mid-2023.It contains specific rules (i) where foreign subsidies take the form of financial flows facilitating acquisitions of EU undertakings, or undertakings operating in the EU, (ii) where foreign subsidies distort public procurement procedures or, (iii) where foreign subsidies provide a benefit when it comes to access to EU financial support. In addition, the Commission will have the right to investigate suspicious cases of subsidies from third countries on its own initiative (ex-officio). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the development of a new operational concept called Decisive Victory that aimed to change the way Israel fights wars and to redefine victory on the battlefield. The root cause of this change was the evolution in nonstate threats from armed groups in Gaza and Lebanon. The concept was to drive major reforms of the IDF in training, interoperability among the services, weapons procurement, and civil‐military relations. However, the efforts encountered significant challenges in terms of politics, financial resources, and the implications for the IDF's force structure. This article examines these developments to shed light on the evolving way of war in the Middle East and the struggle within the IDF to redefine its posture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensification of rivalries between the US and China, and, in recent years, between the US and Russia, has deeply affected how middle powers relate to these great powers. Scholars have argued that middle powers are increasingly adopting "hedging" strategies to maximize their benefits and limit the consequences of the great power competition for their security and status. This paper revisits the concept of hedging and assesses whether two prominent US allies—Australia and Canada—have resorted to hedging in place of conventional alternatives like bandwagoning and balancing. The paper systematically compares Australia's and Canada's threat perceptions and defence policies to ascertain whether they have shifted their policies in the wake of the US's relative decline. Since our study began, in 2008, we have found instances where the two allies resorted to hedging. However, evidence shows that when pressured to make a choice, Australia and Canada have closed ranks with the US against revisionist powers. Our paper suggests that threat perceptions play a fundamental role in this. Going forward, it would suggest that the US is in a stronger position than commonly assumed. As the competition between Washington and revisionist great powers increases, the former's ability to build credible coalitions is expected to improve as it will rely on more dependable allies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, a grand strategy lays out the trade-offs a state must make in pursuit of security, thereby setting all aspects of foreign policy, from trade deals to defence budgets. This essay argues that the trade-offs embodied in a deal as complex, expensive, and long-lasting as AUKUS will manifest themselves in Australia's grand strategy for decades to come. Going forward, Australia's naval procurement decisions will shape its grand strategy, rather than vice versa. The essay makes three related points. First, Australia's costly reneging on France in favour of the US is the most important aspect of the deal to date. Even if these nuclear submarines are never built (a not entirely remote possibility), this shift in investment will determine Australia's approach to the world for a generation. Second, understanding this approach requires acknowledging that arms deals, even between allies, are tough, zero-sum negotiations requiring all parties to give up something of value. Given this, the essay makes the final point that Australia, and any other country entering AUKUS in the future, will pay in autonomy as much as in dollars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In September 2021, Australia, the US, and the United Kingdom entered into a new trilateral security pact, AUKUS. Central to AUKUS is Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, scheduled to begin delivery in the 2030s. AUKUS was announced by Australia's previous conservative government, but it has also won the strong support of the new Labor government. The rationale behind AUKUS emphasizes growing security challenges in the Indo-Pacific and the advantages of joint capabilities and interoperability in the context of China's growing assertiveness in the region. This article examines AUKUS through the lens of China's rise and the contradictory economic and security imperatives that the agreement poses for Australia. We argue that AUKUS is the latest expression of Australia's strategic culture, which is premised on a fear of abandonment and a conviction that Australia's core security interests can only be guaranteed by the support of the US. Yet this position harbours risks that are not widely acknowledged. These include risks to Australia's sovereignty and other risks arising from the uncertainties of the US position in Asia and the volatility of US domestic politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]