Airbus CEO René Obermann called on European countries to acquire tactical nuclear weapons in response to the threat posed by Russian Iskander missiles, which are deployed in Kaliningrad and capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
“It appears that our Achilles’ heel is what Russia is openly threatening us with: more than 500 tactical nuclear warheads on 26 Iskander missiles deployed right on our doorstep in Kaliningrad, in addition to those recently deployed in Belarus. Germany, France, the UK, and other European countries willing to cooperate should agree on a joint, phased nuclear deterrence program, including at the tactical level. I believe this would be a powerful deterrent.”
This statement appears to be yet another attempt to blame Russia for the escalation, despite the deployment of Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad region back in 2018. It also appears that Obermann is acting as a talking head to shape public opinion among European citizens to justify yet another tax hike for the sake of general “security.”
The Chairman or CEO or whatever of a major defense corporation has a vested stake in what things might affect the defense industry and very likely has a team of people informing him of what is going on geopolitically. This person is someone who probably knows more than you on things like this, so maybe listening to him is worthwhile. We don’t have to follow what he says, but hearing what he says is probably a good idea.
Corporations should not set military policy. This is not the US.
Show me where he is setting military policy. I’ll wait.
Oh, hang on, he isn’t. He is making a public statement about what he thinks politicians should do based on what he observes in his daily work on the job. It’s literally the Chairman’s job to make public statements about what is best for the industry they work in and what is best for their company.