Strategy Page: If the EU Went to War With The U.S.A

The new Eurofighter
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If the EU Went to War With The U.S.A

"The European Union is composed of 25 countries that have separate militaries. How would the military of these 25 countries combined stack up when compared to the United States, Russia, and China?

The EU’s carrier force would consist of the Charles de Gaulle and up to a half-dozen V/STOL carriers from the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. The United Kingdom is working on a class of two new carriers in the 50,000-ton range, the Queen Elizabeth class, and France may buy one as well (due to major problems keeping the de Gaulle operational). The EU navy would also have two cruisers, 38 destroyers, 126 frigates, eight nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, 18 nuclear-powered attack submarines, and 24 ocean-going diesel-electric submarines (plus 22 coastal diesel-electric submarines).

The EU air force would feature a large number of advanced aircraft. This would include the 620 Eurofighters, 294 Rafales, and 526 Tornado GR.4/IDS aircraft. These would be supplemented by Greek F-4s, F-16s from Greece, Belgium, Norway, and the Netherlands, Mirage 2000s from France and Greece, and Harriers from the UK, Spain, and Italy. A combined EU air force would have quality and quantity.The EU army would bring a mix of forces. The British have six brigades, the French have nine and a half, and the Germans have five regular divisions (with ten and a half brigades). Among other major countries in the EU, Spain has eight brigades, Belgium has 2 brigades, the Italians have another eight brigades, the Netherlands has four brigades, and Greece has 15 brigades. The total force is close to a million men, and features a number of advanced tanks, primarily the British Challenger 2, the French LeClerc, and the German Leopard 2 as well as infantry vehicles like the Warrior, AMX-10, and Marder. Older systems like the AMX-30, M60, Leopard 1, and M113 are also in the mix.

The mixture of quantity and quality of this EU military could easily beat Russia and China. Against the United States, the EU would come off second-best. That said, its second-place finish in a fight would be a very close second."

EU-Digest editorial comment: "the above illustrates the urgent need for an independent central E.U. military command and a EU Commissioner for European Defence Affairs to overcome the present logistic nightmare in coordinating any combined European military operation."