Military transformation, political economy pressures and the future of trans-atlantic national security space cooperation

Abstract

Investment demand for national security space is building on both sides of the Atlantic due to changes in technology and the threat environment. Many people hope that the close NATO alliance ties will facilitate trans-Atlantic coordination of plans. Coordination, they argue, would increase efficiency, yielding more and better space systems, and also would enhance effectiveness, increasing the operational pay-off of each unit of investment. However, several barriers stand in the way: the economic benefits would be smaller than advocates hope, political constraints bind tightly and military doctrine is evolving in different directions in Europe and the United States. Consequently, trans-Atlantic cooperation is unlikely to make a major contribution to national security space policy.