The French-led European Long-Range Missile Strike Approach (ELSA) gained momentum when the Netherlands confirmed its decision to join the effort.
Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans stated on X: “To counter Russian aggression, European countries require long-range weapons. In Paris, I announce that the Netherlands also wishes to participate in ELSA.” The defence minister also shared photographs of himself signing the initiative.
ELSA was established in July 2024 by European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, and Poland, to create a sovereign capability aimed at enhancing “the defence of Europe and to strengthen the European defence industrial and technological base” and assisting in “strengthening the European pillar of the Alliance, for better sharing of the burden between allies.”
The United Kingdom joined the project in October 2024, becoming the sixth participant. British Defence Secretary John Healey announced the decision to join ELSA, saying, “We are making a UK commitment to the long-range missile program, a formal commitment alongside France, Germany, Poland, and a couple of others.”
In October of this year, Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson signed a letter of intent indicating their involvement. “The war in Ukraine has underscored the importance of long-range deep strike capabilities, not only for deterrence but also for preventing adversaries from launching attacks from beyond our defensive reach,” Jonson told X.
ELSA (European Long-Range Strike Approach) envisions the development of land-based cruise missiles with ranges of 1,000-2,000 kilometres. Previously, the Cold War-era INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty forbade ground-launched missiles from operating within this range. However, the deal was terminated in 2019 after the United States and Russia withdrew from it.
Some reports published earlier this month speculated that if the ELSA proposal proceeds forward, MBDA, a well-known European defence business, will likely take the lead in creating the technology. MBDA presented its Land Cruise Missile (LCM) system earlier this year, based on the French Navy’s battle-tested Naval Cruise Missile (NCM), which is used on surface ships and submarines. The EurAsian Times cannot independently corroborate these statements.\War has triggered Europe’s missile development.
The ELSA movement is gaining traction as conventional warfare returns to Europe, which was thought to be obsolete until Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The Netherlands’ decision to join the ELSA follows Russia’s admission that it intends to deploy the latest RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system on combat service.
However, the formalisation of ELSA was prompted by European countries’ painful realisation that they lack autonomous, long-range attack capabilities to confront adversaries such as Russia.
This was also obvious in the Dutch minister’s statement, which stressed that “Europe needs long-range missiles.”
Cruise missiles, unlike ballistic missiles, travel low, making them more difficult to detect. Russia’s widespread deployment of ballistic and cruise missiles in the ongoing conflict has led some European countries to reevaluate the benefits of having conventional long-range strike capabilities of their own.
European countries have two options: 1) manufacture locally or in conjunction with other European countries, or 2) purchase from outside Europe, such as the United States. However, as Europe strengthens its own collective security and local growth, ELSA has become the preferred option.
Currently, Europe has 500-kilometer-range cruise missiles launched from fighter jets. These include the German Taurus, the French Scalp, and the British Storm Shadow.
A still from Ukrainian air force footage depicts a Storm Shadow missile being launched. YouTube/Ukraine Air Force
In a previous article, the think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) wrote: “Although almost all ELSA participants already possess air-launched and, in some cases, sea-launched cruise missiles, no European NATO member, with the exception of Turkey, possesses a conventional ground-launched missile with a range greater than 300 kilometres.” The creation of this capability would, thus, address what these countries perceive to be a capability gap in which Russia has a clear edge.”
Furthermore, Europe requires improved deep-strike capabilities since high-intensity combat has been systematically underfunded. The Allies have previously been instructed to rectify large artillery capability gaps with Russia, as outlined by the NATO Defence Planning Process.
The Netherlands, for example, has long sought long-range attack capability, as seen by its February procurement of 120 AGM-158B/B-2 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs).
Nonetheless, the long-range missiles produced under the ELSA initiative are intended to act as a deterrent to Russia. After signing the letter of intent in July, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu stated, “The goal is to make it as accessible as possible. It is valuable, even on a budgetary level, because it permits the various expenditures to be amortised.”
However, the proposal looks to be consistent with Macron’s long-term ambition of developing a new European security framework, which is linked to his recently unveiled European defence project. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Macron has insisted that potential future “neighbourly relations” with Russia require a strong European defence.
Although unidentified European defence officials have said that the goal is to develop a ground-launched capability, the IISS pointed out that it is not explicitly stated in the communiqué. This was also obvious when the Swedish defence minister stated that, while Sweden does not currently prioritise ground-based strike options, the ELSA project may be useful in the naval and aerial domains, which are Stockholm’s primary interests.
Furthermore, the IISS emphasised that participants could choose to build a ballistic missile. “Despite their being some hypothetical flexibility as to what shape the ELSA project would take, the creation of a cruise rather than a ballistic missile is likelier because of European defence-industrial businesses’ extensive experience in creating the former compared with the latter,” the report stated.”
The intricacies of the program and what it will include are unclear at this time, and more participants are expected to join before these aspects can be worked out. However, the Netherlands’ submission indicates that a long-range European missile will certainly become a reality in the coming years.