Image Credentials: Image Title: Europe’s Defense Spending Surge Too Slow to Counter Russian Threat, Warns Saab CEO Source: (sora.chatgpt) Date: June 2025 Attribution: Created by AI-generated imagery (sora.chatgpt), it does not depict a real-world scene.
June 3, 2025 | Brussels
Despite a wave of pledges by European nations to ramp up defense spending, Saab CEO Micael Johansson warns that the continent’s sluggish procurement processes could leave it dangerously unprepared for a potential Russian threat in the coming years.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Johansson expressed growing frustration over how long it takes for announced military budgets to translate into actual defense capabilities. “The process is much too long still,” he told Business Insider. “It takes a long time before it gets into industry.”
Johansson, who also serves as the president of the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), emphasized the urgency by pointing to Russia’s growing military output. He noted that Moscow is currently producing nearly five times more artillery shells annually than the entire European Union, and is rapidly expanding its military-industrial complex while Europe lags in coordination and execution.
With most European countries having already stretched debt/GDP and fiscal situation there is no way they can absorb 3% of GDP for incremental defense spending without cutting their lavish welfare and other spend. Massive political and economic consequences, pay attention. pic.twitter.com/FPMR1ucHBf
— Michael A. Arouet (@MichaelAArouet) May 14, 2025
Sweden’s Spending Bottleneck
Using Sweden as an example, Johansson highlighted how defense spending hikes are often delayed by bureaucratic bottlenecks. Although Stockholm plans to increase its military budget from 2.4% of GDP this year to 3.5% by 2030, it could take years before that money results in new weapons systems or defense infrastructure.
“Even in Sweden, it takes six months just to decide what to spend the money on. Then you have to go through acquisition processes, which can take years,” he said. “This is not good enough in times of war. It’s tragic.”
A Shared European Concern
Johansson’s concerns were echoed by Germany’s defense chief, Gen. Carsten Breuer, who admitted during a panel discussion at the same conference that Germany’s defense procurement system had been designed to avoid spending money.
“In Germany, if a process moved too quickly, officials would create a new process just to slow it down,” Breuer said, reflecting on an era of post-Cold War complacency.
The shift in rhetoric comes amid warnings that Europe may have as little as four years to deter or prepare for a potential Russian military challenge, particularly in the Baltic region, by 2029, a date that European intelligence and military planners are treating as a possible flashpoint.
U.S. Pressure and Trump’s Demands
Adding to the pressure is the evolving stance of the United States under President Donald Trump’s second administration. Trump has once again pressed NATO members to raise defense spending—this time to 5% of GDP. While some leaders, including in Germany, have expressed openness to the target, most European countries remain far below it.
The fear that Washington could withdraw support for regional defense unless Europe significantly increases its efforts has added a new sense of urgency to defense policy discussions across the continent.
Saab Sees Soaring Demand
Meanwhile, Saab, Sweden’s largest defense manufacturer and the producer of the Gripen fighter jet, specifically designed with the Russian threat in mind, has seen a surge in orders since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The company reported annual sales of 63.75 billion Swedish krona ($6.6 billion) in 2024, a sharp increase from 39.15 billion krona in 2021.
Despite this commercial success, Johansson stressed that Europe needs more than orders and rhetoric—it needs speed. “Europe has to take its responsibility,” he said. “We need integrated missile defense systems, joint aircraft programs, space capabilities, and ammunition manufacturing hubs.”
The Clock Is Ticking
As the geopolitical landscape continues to shift, Johansson’s warning underscores a critical dilemma: Europe may be spending more on defense than at any point in decades, but without urgent reform to streamline procurement and deployment, that money may arrive too late.
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