In December 1983, the U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and his West German counterpart, Manfred Wörner, agreed on a $3 billion program to boost NATO’s air defenses along the inner-German border with the Soviet-controlled eastern bloc. Throughout the first half of the Cold War, ground-based air defenses (GBAD) supported NATO’s Forward Defense strategy for Central Europe, deploying Nike and Hawk surface-to-air missiles in West Germany.
These missile systems were also used to emphasize graduated, primarily conventional options over massive nuclear retaliation – and were utilized to protect U.S. and West German airfields amid the Cold War.
Given the rising Soviet threat, NATO and the U.S. sought a non-nuclear replacement for the Nike, leading to the development and procurement of the Patriot fire units and the Franco-German short-range surface-to-air missile system, the Roland fire units.
Throughout the early 1990s, air defense assets were a target for budget cuts across Europe, causing a reduction in GBAD capabilities in Europe. Consequently, there was a significant effort from European leaders to rebuild allied air defenses amidst Russia’s missile and drone attacks on Ukraine and the shock of the war.
Following Russia’s missile war against Ukraine, NATO leaders revisited the 40-year-old U.S.-West German agreement for inspiration. This led to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) and the European investment in expanding industrial capacity for air defense systems, which are benefiting Ukraine.
There are several paths to further broaden and deepen European cooperation on GBAD, including investing in deep-strike capabilities. The establishment of a tactical Patriot Advanced Capability-2 Guidance Enhanced Missile production facility in Germany is seen as a crucial step in this regard.
