The European Air Shield Initiative: Centralised Air Defence Procurement and Industrial Realignment
How Germany’s EASI framework is reshaping European air and missile defence, supply chains and EU–NATO financial coordination
The European Air Shield Initiative represents a structural shift in how Europe organises air and missile defence acquisition, industrial alignment and logistical integration. Conceived in 2022 under Germany’s Zeitenwende policy turn, EASI aggregates demand for Patriot, IRIS-T SLM and Arrow 3 systems within a coordinated procurement architecture aligned with NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence framework. By combining national budget allocations with EU instruments such as EDIRPA and SAFE technical assistance, the initiative centralises purchasing power, accelerates off-the-shelf acquisition and standardises operational procedures. At the same time, it redistributes industrial advantage toward selected transatlantic and German-anchored supply chains, reconfiguring competition within the European defence industrial base and reinforcing Germany’s logistical centrality through the Drehscheibe Deutschland concept.