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Europe’s weapons makers are prospering as the continent reconsiders its post-Cold War stance of favoring domestic investment over military spending.
By Lara Jakes and Bernhard Warner
Lara Jakes has written extensively about Europe’s defense industry and reported from Turin, Italy. Bernhard Warner covers business trends and the markets.
April 22, 2025, 12:01 a.m. ET
Fresh off the assembly line, the two Eurofighter jets screamed down Turin’s runway at 186 miles per hour before lifting off against the snow-capped Alps. Their destination was Kuwait, a six-hour flight away.
The Kuwaiti military is the first foreign customer to buy the supersonic jets from Leonardo, the Italian defense contractor that manufactures the Eurofighter as part of a consortium with producers in Britain, Germany and Spain. More such deals are likely, as Europe looks inward to build its defenses amid President Trump’s trade war and his demands that Europe stop relying on the United States for its security.
Demand for weapons spiked in Europe after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and has persisted. With Europe producing more and better weapons, it is also looking to sell its wares more broadly on the global market.
The new emphasis on arms production is evidence of a broader generational shift in Europe, which wound down its militaries after the Cold War in favor of social investments.
Giancarlo Mezzanatto, a top Leonardo official who was the Eurofighter consortium’s chief executive until December, is betting that the administration’s antagonism toward Europe will encourage more militaries to buy European weapons. Already, both Poland and Turkey are weighing multibillion-dollar deals for the Eurofighter, known as the “Typhoon,” instead of expanding their fleets of American-made jets.
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