EU to begin research programme to better protect armed forces
European Union defence ministers launched a new joint research programme which will look into technologies aimed at protecting EU troops against threats such as snipers, booby traps and improvised bombs. The three-year Joint Investment Programme (JIP), co-ordinated by the European Defence Agency (EDA), is worth €54.2 million and involves 19 European countries. The programme is due to start on 1 January 2007. Under the new scheme, new defence research and technology initiatives are planned in areas such as the individual protection of soldiers, data analysis, secure wireless communication and mission planning and training. Unlike previous cooperation on European defence research and technology, which involved governments negotiating financial and industrial shares for each individual project, the JIP sets up a common budget to fund the whole programme. 'If Europe is to maintain an effective defence technological and industrial base and develop the military capabilities we will need in the future, we simply have to spend more on R&T [research and technology] and do much more together,' said Javier Solana, Head of the EDA and the High Representative for the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy. In a further boost to cooperation, Finland, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden said they would start an ad-hoc joint research programme (ESSOR) under the EDA umbrella, worth an estimated €100 million. The aim of ESSOR is to enhance interoperability of Software Defined Radio (SDR) in Europe and with the US and NATO. SDR is a technology for secure communications with important potential applications for military and civilian use.