Cascais, Portugal, April 29, 2026 (Lusa) – The head of the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries in Europe (ASD), Micael Johansson, has said in a Lusa interview that national defence sovereignty is crucial and NATO is a "strong alliance."
He visited Cascais on Tuesday for the ASD Convention 2026, a meeting of major European defence, security, and aerospace players.
When asked how to build a true European defence industry, the ASD chair said demand is the starting point.
"I think it starts with demand. I think if countries start to come together, at least as a ‘coalition of willings’ to buy the same things, that would mean bigger volumes," he said.
Therefore, "companies would start partnering and, maybe forming joint-ventures that will lead to consolidation. I think it's very difficult to politically top down, try to orchestrate this to make it: 'Okay, you make tanks, you make fighter aircraft, you make submarines.' I don't believe in that," the official, who is also Saab CEO, added.
"You need a competitive market as well to have an advantage," Johansson said.
Johansson noted that starting with the same demand and same requirements is an important factor for the industry. "If you have customised versions in every country, then it [the market] becomes fragmented," he pointed out.
For the official, "national sovereignty, when it comes to defence, is crucial." "The most important thing a government has to realise [is] you have to defend your people, and you have to be able to control that in a way," he said.
For that reason, no country should dictate where another buys its equipment, so "national sovereignty is important." However, beyond national sovereignty, "of course you have bigger things that cannot be done by a single European country," he said.
He called for collaborations to fill gaps such as air defence systems, like the Iron Dome (an all-weather mobile air defence system), and long-range precision strike capabilities.
These could form part of a proposed EU “drone wall” (air defence network), he said.
Johansson also noted that these are issues countries have to collaborate on, and it was not a choice between one or the other.
He added that sometimes people assumed they could not have federal decision-making power in the European Commission or the European Union (EU), which he considers correct.
The decision “must be made by member states in coalitions of the willing, but the EU can facilitate this through the incentive programmes we have”, such as the European Defence Fund (EDF), that provides funding for research and development, among other mechanisms.
On strengthening Europe’s defence independence without harming ties with the US or cooperation within NATO, Johansson pointed to interoperability and balance.
Johansson highlights that NATO interoperability does not mean everyone must have US equipment.
"Everyone has to bring in things that work together, [that are] interoperable. I don't think that is a problem at all," he adds.
He also noted that the current US administration wants Europe to take greater responsibility for its own security, defence and resilience.
Meaning that countries "have to have more sovereign capability in Europe. It doesn't mean that [countries] have to cut ties or disconnect from the United States."
He noted there should be "some sort of European preference, making sure we shift the balance to have 70% in Europe and maybe 30% in connection with the US."
He pointed to the US as an example: "They buy 98% from their own industry. So why shouldn't we have more sovereign control in Europe? And that may need a European preference to support that direction."
On NATO, Johansson described it as a strong alliance in which 32 countries, "maybe with one exception," have committed to spending 3.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defence by 2035.
He said he hopes the alliance remains united with the same objective.
Regarding supply chains, Johansson said both the defence sector and civil aviation face similar challenges.
He noted the main bottleneck is the supply chain itself.
"I do think we have to work diligently on making sure that we regionalise, as far as possible, supply chains, and have more resilient supply chains." "So, to handle that and to make sure that we're not cut off when it comes to raw materials and rare earth minerals," among others, "is key," Johannson explained.
In the long term, he said Europe and the Western world must invest in more sovereign capacity in these areas to avoid being completely dependent on China or other countries.
ALU/LYT // AYLS
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