Why Does the Czech Republic Need a Defence Industrial Base Strategy?

Abstract

Without a national strategy for the defence industrial base, and its operationalization in specific policies, which would be pursued in an active, systematic and long-term manner, the Czech Republic will soon have no defence industry and be completely dependent on the import of defence equipment from abroad with a fatal impact on its defence, internal security, and its obligations to allies and partners in NATO and the EU. The article describes the benefits of defence industrial base, identifies trends in its development in the Western Europe and stipulates principles and recommendations, upon which a national strategy for the defence industrial base of the Czech Republic might be established.

Keywords

• Defence industrial base
• Czech Republic
• defence capabilities
• co-operative programmes
• procurement and defence market