Defence commission

Following up on the study conducted by its “Evolution of the Aerospace Industries” committee, which had highlighted the importance of the military sector, the Academy established a “Defense” committee in May 2002.

This committee is responsible for facilitating discussions on certain aspects of security and defense in European countries where air and/or space components play a major role. The “Defense” Committee prepares in-depth reports on topics it selects or drafts Academy Opinions intended for approval in plenary session and for wide dissemination.

The “Defense” Committee falls under the jurisdiction of Section 2 but includes at least one representative from each of the other sections. Each section is therefore invited to appoint its representative(s) to this committee.

The committee chair takes special care to involve in the committee’s work those members and European correspondents of the Academy who wish to contribute to its deliberations. The chair may also invite prominent French and European figures who are not members of the Academy to participate in the committee’s work.

The “Defense” Committee draws up a tentative schedule for its work and reports regularly to the Executive Committee and the General Assembly on the progress of its activities. If necessary, the Executive Committee and the General Assembly may provide the Committee with guidelines on the priorities it should adopt in conducting its deliberations.

The chair of the “Defense” Committee is appointed by the Executive Committee.

Since its creation in 2002, the Defense Commission has conducted research and deliberations on numerous topics, leading to the publication of Academy reports and opinions that are widely distributed to the relevant authorities in European countries and the European Union:

• Ballistic Missile Defense. The Academy’s Report No. 23, published in 2004, grew out of these discussions: “The Ballistic Missile Threat: What Policy for France and Europe?”
• Space in the Service of Defense: A joint study conducted by the Academy’s Space Commission and the Space-Defense Working Group of the International Commission of the French Aeronautics and Astronautics Association (3AF). The results of this study form Chapter VII of the Academy’s Report No. 27, published in 2006: “Europe in Space: Challenges and Prospects.”
• The strategic implications and security and defense aspects of the European satellite navigation system GALILEO, the subject of a joint publication by the Air and Space Academy, the Naval Academy, and the Bureau des Longitudes: “Galileo: A Strategic, Scientific, and Technical Challenge,” published by the Bureau des Longitudes in 2003, then updated and reissued by L’Harmattan in 2008.
• The rapid development of drones and their impact on the defense sector, which led to the Academy’s Report No. 25, published in 2004: “The Drone Revolution.”
• The rapid development of drones and their impact on the defense sector, which led to the Academy’s Report No. 25, published in 2004: “The Drone Revolution.”
• The Future of Combat Aviation in Europe, which led to an initial report in 2011 titled “What Future for the European Combat Aviation Industry? Toward a Predicted Demise?” and was widely circulated throughout Europe. Following this initial report, the Defense Commission organized an international symposium in Paris in May 2013 and drafted an “Opinion” of the Academy: Opinion No. 5, titled “Recommendations to Prevent Europe’s Strategic Decline in the Field of Combat Aviation Following the European Forum Held in Paris on May 16, 2013 .”
• The strengthening of the role of the European Defense Agency (EDA), which led to the publication in 2015 of the Academy’s Opinion No. 6: “How to Enable the European Defense Agency to Fully Fulfill Its Role.”
• How to ensure the effective and rigorous management of cooperative defense programs, which led to the publication in 2016 of the Academy’s Opinion No. 7: “Toward the Rigorous Management of European Cooperative Defense Systems Programs.”
• European cooperation in the development of space systems for defense and security. The Defense Commission’s deliberations led to the publication in 2018 of Dossier No. 43: “Space Systems Supporting Security and Defense: A New European Approach.”

The Defense Committee closely monitors developments in the European Union related to defense—which have been particularly significant since 2016—and maintains ongoing relations with the European Commission, the European Defense Agency, and the European Parliament.