Airbus UK boss: Europe must march in step on defence in the face of conflict
The chairman of Airbus UK has warned that Europe must collaborate more on defence and procurement, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing geopolitical tensions globally.
In an interview with City PM John Harrison, who has held the position since 2019, said: “I just think that Europe as an entity could do a better job of working more closely together.”
“It’s a shame that certain countries will choose a US solution or something just national, where the budgets are not sufficiently large for us to be able to have the luxury of several different products.”
Airbus, the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer, is one of the biggest players in the lucrative global arms industry. In 2022, its defence and space segment brought in €11.3bn (£9.8bn) in revenues — just under a fifth of the overall business,.
The group is also part of Eurofighter Typhoon, an industry collaboration involving BAE Systems and Leonardo, which manages the supply of Typhoon combat aircraft across Europe.
“If you take some of the cooperations that we’ve had like Eurofighter… You put your resources together, that’s a very successful programme [with] more than 620 aircraft being delivered,” said Harrison, who joined Airbus (then called EADS) in 1997 as a lawyer, rising to general counsel at the EADS defence division.
“Countries come together, they decide they’re workshare, you know, we bring in our wing technology in the UK, so it’s a win-win and then the government will get a return. They get the product they want and also revenues.”
“So we’re saying more of that, please, and less of well, you know, we’ll do our own helicopter in a joint venture with this country or we’ll just buy the American product for this, because it’s kind of shooting yourself in the foot,” he explained.
His comments come amid growing calls from Europe’s defence sector for a more collaborative approach to procurement across the continent.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, geopolitical tensions over Taiwan and now fresh conflict in the Middle East have placed defence spending high on the agenda of European governments. At the same time, major contractors such as BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin are raking in collosal profits.
But new Nato and European Union procurement initiatives have been slow out of the blocks. Defence spending in the EU is currently overseen by each member state, creating friction between allies and a tendency for countries to focus inward when allocating funding.
On Wednesday, the Times reported that Germany was considering ditching its flagship €100bn combat jet project with France to join a seperate British programme, reflecting a growing rift between the two EU powers.
Airbus’s global chief executive, Guillaume Faury, has previously described Europe’s collaboration on major defence projects after Putin’s invasion as “frustrating,” with not enough unity shown to address threats and solutions.
“I think that sometimes on European programmes, we need to get our act together,” Harrison told City PM
“I think that sometimes on European programmes, we need to get our act together.”
John Harrison, Chariman of Airbus UK
Alongside the Eurofighter Typhoon, Airbus also manufactures the A400M, a military transport aircraft which has become the RAF’s predominant movement platform and played a key role in the evacuation of Kabul in 2021.
In a vote of confidence for the UK’s aerospace sector following years of Covid-era job cuts, Harrison said “it’s something I really feel strongly about. We are always kind of talking down the UK.”
“It annoys me because when you look at aerospace, we suffered big time in 2020. But we came out, and we came out quite well and there’s a real need to be a bit more positive.”
The planemaker contributed around £7bn to the UK economy last year. Many of the new jobs will be in high-tech areas such as cyber security and robotics.
“So the UK has got a lot going for it and the proof of that is the money that we’re putting in with our helicopter business… We spent more than £250m buying the real estate in Filton [Bristol] and Broughton [North Wales] and so you know, we’re here to stay,” Harrison added.