Europe’s armed forces team up on refueling aircraft

Defense Talk ^ | 3/26/2012 | Defense Talk

[U-238]

European defence ministers facing shrinking budgets agreed Thursday to join forces to get more air-to-air refueling planes, deploy extra field hospitals and exploit "green" energy.

The projects are part of the European Union's efforts to pool and share military resources as the debt crisis and a US strategic pivot towards Asia forces Europe's armed forces to band together.

The ministers, who met in Brussels, emphasized in a statement "the urgent political necessity to retain and develop the military capabilities for sustaining and enhancing" their common security policy.

They signed a political declaration to pursue ways to purchase or share airborne tankers after being forced to rely heavily on US tankers to keep their fighter jets aloft during NATO's seven-month operation in Libya last year.

[RightOnline]

“Green energy”.....fercryinoutloud, as if these Eurotwits didn’t have FAR bigger things to worry about. Idiots.

[Venturer]

Exactly. Wasting money on Green Energy won’t get them out of the hole they are in.

I guess they can’t see what our Muslim is doing here.

When the technology exists it will pay for itself.
It is prudent to invest somewhat in Green Energy, but tossing money cannot force it to come into being any more than tossing money at a cancer cure will provide that cure. It has to come in it’s own time , hopefully soon.

[Caulkhead]

They’re only following your lead!

http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/09/us-army-embarks-on-7-billion-renewable-energy-overhaul.php

http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2143704/army-fires-usd60m-contracts-green-energy

http://army-energy.hqda.pentagon.mil/renewable/renewable_projects.asp

http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/03/army-green-dod-leads-fight-renewable-energy/

:)

[MasterGunner01]

The Europeans haven't had effective militaries since the Evil Empire/Warsaw Pact died in 1989. Even then, the only real muscle NATO had was the Americans. The Russians were rightly afraid of the West Germans though. (It probably had something to do with the Great Patriotic War of 1941 to 1945.)

Once the Cold War ended, the pretense of funding NATO’s militaries was lost and the Euros gutted their militaries to fund their swelling welfare programs. The Euros cannot field any kind of sustainable military force as shown by the Euros campaign against Gadaffi’s Libya. The Americans did the heavy lifting for the Euros who, for a time, had to suspend their air attacks due to lack of ammunition! Some credible fighting force NATO is, eh? The Euros are so broke this is mere posturing on their parts. They don't have the money to buy nearly enough tanker aircraft — if they were REALLY serious.