The Staggering Cost of Not Investing in European Space & Missile Systems

Video Description

Europe is rebuilding its military power, but how independent is it really? Since the war in Ukraine, European countries have spent tens of billions on American missile systems, relied on SpaceX for satellite launches, and depended heavily on Starlink for communications. At the same time, new European programmes are emerging—Ariane 6, IRIS², GOVSATCOM, and a wave of missile projects aiming to reduce reliance on the United States. In this video, we break down Europe’s missile and satellite capabilities: what exists today, what’s being built, and where the real bottlenecks are. From Patriot and HIMARS purchases to SpaceX launches, and from Starlink dominance to Europe’s fragmented missile programmes like ELSA, this is the full picture of how Europe is trying to regain control over its own defence infrastructure. Is Europe becoming strategically independent—or just diversifying its dependence? Topics covered: European missile purchases from the US (Patriot, HIMARS, AMRAAM, Tomahawk) Starlink’s role in Ukraine and Europe SpaceX launches of European satellites (Galileo, Euclid, Hera) Europe’s launch capabilities (Ariane 6, Vega-C, Kourou) Satellite alternatives (Eutelsat, IRIS², GOVSATCOM) Canada's push for sovereign satellites European missile programmes (Storm Shadow, Taurus, FC/ASW, FLP-T, ELSA) The challenge of scaling production and coordination 00:00 The $68 Billion Dependence 01:38 The Starlink Dependency 03:00 Starlink Alternatives 03:14 Eutelsat-OneWeb 03:53 IRIS 2 04:22 GOVSATCOM 04:51 Telesat Lightspeed - Canada 05:30 Comparing Satellite Inventory 06:37 Launch capability - import vs export 07:52 European Space Lauch Capability 09:40 European Missile Imports 2017-26 10:26 Storm Shadow/SCALP, Taurus, Joint Strike Missile 12:03 MdCN, Naval Strike Missile, RBS-15 & Exocet 13:18 Upcoming European Missile Programmes - Stratus 14:20 HIMARS Alternatives 14:51 Speed vs Sovereignty - ELSA-failure? #europe #military #satellite