EU Aims to Surpass US Military [The Sleeping Giant Rises]
The Awakening of a Sleeping Giant
There's a particular leader within the European Union who sees it as a sleeping giant. And a sleeping giant that must wake up and begin to show its strength and punch up to its weight. And the weight it's looking to punch up to is in military. and EU leaders are now coming out and not only talking about an EU military, but one that's going to surpass the United States. That's right, surpass the United States.
And so, the EU is in the process of developing its own industrial military complex. And this is something that has been in the works for some time. It's not just happen overnight. It's not going to happen overnight. It's actually been evolving.
From Lisbon to the European Space Shield
In the European Union's early years was the Western European Union. But once the Lisbon Treaty hit, then came PESCO and now more recently Rearm Europe and the European Space Shield. And the European Union wants a military to rival the United States. and not only rival it, surpass it.
The Scale of the American Machine: A Benchmark
So, I want to give you a few facts about the US military. The US defense budget has surged towards $1 trillion. So, to put this in perspective, the United States spends more on its military than the next 10 to 15 countries combined. This includes China, Russia, India, and the UK. And this is what's kept the United States not only in the number one spot, but in a spot where another nation wouldn't even come close.
As part of the US military complex, it operates 11 nuclearpowered aircraft carriers. China, which has the world's second largest navy, only has three. And if you include the United States helicopter carriers, which are larger than most other count's flagship carriers, the US has 20 floating air bases. And this gives the United States more deck space than the entire world combined. And the United States maintains a network of approximately 750 to 800 military bases in 80 countries. No other empire in history has ever achieved this kind of footprint.
2026: The Structural Pivot to a European Defense Union
So when German Chancellor Frederick Mertz states that the European Union wants to create Europe's strongest army and Andreas Kubilus talks about Europe having the potential to become a defense giant in which he states in a world of giants we too must become giants and he called for a big bang in discussions about the future of European defense and how to achieve a true European Defense Union.
And to achieve this in early 2026, the European Defense Industry Program is now law. And it's not just a fund, it's a structural pivot to move 27 fragmented militaries into a single integrated industrial complex. And by 2030, the EU has mandated that 50% of defense procurement must stay within the union. This is a direct assault on the market share of of US defense contractors.
Decoupling and the New World Hub
The latest 2026 reports from the Munich Security Conference confirm that the US security umbrella is now conditional. The EU is no longer stepping up. They are decoupling. It's been recent that the European Union proclaimed itself a world hub for trade and that they are the trade giant in the world. And literally within days of that proclamation came their statements of their determination to have the world's greatest military.
The Roadmap Ahead
So, in looking at the US military and the size and scale, we're going to take a look in the days ahead about all the monies that the EU is putting into its military as well as what the US is also doing and I will be providing you a road map on what Europe needs to yet achieve and what it's working to achieve to surpass the United States.
But in the meantime, this is the goal. It's being stated now while it's being totally ignored at the same time, except on this channel. So stay tuned for more. Definitely hit that subscribe button. This has been Erica Gray of The Twist.