Europe’s Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030: From Strategic Vision to Industrial Execution
The European Commission’s presentation of the Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 on 16 October 2025 marks a pivotal institutional effort to define Europe’s defence posture within the decade. The initiative responds to the combined pressures of Russia’s sustained aggression, hybrid warfare on the eastern flank, and the gradual recalibration of US commitments to NATO. The roadmap establishes four flagship programmes designed to deliver a tangible architecture of European deterrence: the European Drone Defence Initiative, the Eastern Flank Watch, the European Air Shield, and the European Space Shield. Each project is intended to reach initial operational capacity before 2030, with interoperability, digital integration, and resilience as central parameters. Politically, the roadmap represents a structural attempt to move from fragmented national initiatives toward a coordinated European security capability, reflecting a deeper convergence between the Union’s industrial policy and its collective defence ambitions.