10-04-2017, 08:22 PM
FUTURE TRENDS FROM THE
CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN
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INTRODUCTION
The European Defence Agency has taken forward two important pieces of work, working closely with
experts from the Member States, the EU Military Committee and the EU Military Staff. These are Long
Term Vision (LTV), endorsed by Defence Ministers in October 2006, and the Capability Development
Plan (CDP), which was endorsed in its initial version in July 2008 by the national Capability Directors.
Both documents exist to inform the Member States national capability development processes and
provide a common baseline for collaboration within the defence and security area for Europe.
The LTV was published as an open document but the classification level of the initial CDP has
prohibited the release of the full contents of the CDP into the public domain. However, many Member
States have insisted that some of the more significant area of the CDP should be made available to a
much wider audience within defence staffs.
In response to this need the EDA has prepared this publication. It represents a selection of nonclassified
material from the full version of initial CDP focussing on Future Capability Trends and
Characteristics, as well as a selection of background documents prepared during the work that led up
to the CDP. A core selection of documents is provided in printed format, and a larger set of documents
provided in electronic format, on a CD-ROM.
CDP CONTEXT
The EDA Long-Term Vision (LTV) report outlined the sort of capabilities which Europe s armed forces
would need for possible European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) military operations in the
future. The broad endorsement of the LTV by EU Defence Ministers in October 2006 provided a solid
foundation for ESDP capability development activities to be taken forward within a short-to-longer term
perspective and set the baseline for an unique enterprise: to create a comprehensive and auditable
overview of military capability trends and requirements, from today to 2025 and beyond, across all
envisaged ESDP missions.
In order to start this endeavour, the EDA Steering Board at the end of 2006 tasked the EDA to establish
an ESDP Capability Development Plan (CDP), based on the Headline Goal 2010 process and the LTV,
conducting a more detailed and evidence-based analysis of future capability needs and the mutual
disclosure of national medium-to-long term planning.