A Transformation Gap?: American Innovations and European Military Change

NATO member states are all undergoing some form of military transformation. Despite a shared vision, transformation has been primarily a US-led process centered on the exploitation of new information technologies in combination with new concepts for "networked organizations" and "effects-based operations." Simply put, European states have been unable to match the level of US investment in new military technologies, leading to the identification of a growing "transformation gap" between the US and the European allies.

This book assesses the extent and trajectory of military transformation across a range of European NATO member states, setting their transformation progress against that of the US, and examining the complex mix of factors driving military transformation in each country. It reveals not only the nature and extent of the transatlantic gap, but also identifies an enormous variation in the extent and pace of transformation among the European allies, suggesting both technological and operational gaps within Europe.

Terry Terriff is the Arthur J. Child Chair of American Security Policy at the University of Calgary. Frans Osinga is a Colonel in the Royal Netherlands Air Force and an Assistant Professor at the Royal Netherlands Military Academy. Theo Farrell is Professor of War in the Modern World at King's College London.