And therefore it is all the more important to work with other partners, because everyone has their own skills. For example, it refers to Dutch naval vessels as our expertise, as well as the systems used in them. “So we really try to stimulate cooperation, instead of developing something in other countries that we already have.”
According to Edelijn, this is also true vice versa, which leads to the many partnerships that the Netherlands already has in the field of defence. For example, there is intensive cooperation with Germany and industry there, even if there is a danger in the nationalist corner of politics. “The Netherlands has the best long-range radar in the world, which is on board our LCF frigates,” he continues. “But Germany now wants to develop something on its own with a company from its own country, which is strongly driven by German political decision-making.”
Own industry first
Edelijn sees a similar development in larger European countries, which increasingly tend to develop such things with their own industry. Especially since it often results in an improvement of one’s defense branch, and can also boost one’s economy. “But then you don’t work effectively in Europe,” he stresses. «And this has always been Europe’s handicap; there are 28 countries, but if we compare it with the United States, we see that there are the five largest defense companies in the world.’
Not sustainable
According to Edelijn, the reason the Netherlands cannot address many defense issues domestically is that it cannot be done sustainably in the Netherlands. The Netherlands would be too small for that. The reason the Netherlands is good at radar technology is because the Netherlands is constantly developing, he believes she. ‘But then the Dutch defense as the only client is not good enough.’
The same goes for all other European defense industries compared to the US. “In the US it’s obviously being raced as a whole,” he continues. “So you build radars for the entire US Navy, and we don’t have 28 navies in Europe. But much.’