European defense industry could come to regret new US weapons fund

A new initiative by the Trump administration to subsidize U.S. weapons sales to some former Warsaw Pact countries could rankle European defense leaders, some of whom are fuming over Washington’s recent request for full access to European Union defense coffers.

The European Recapitalization Incentive Program, or ERIP, a new tool developed with U.S. European Command to speed the process of getting allied nations off Russian gear, plans to spread $190 million to six countries: Albania, Bosnia and North Macedonia, plus the EU member states of Croatia, Greece and Slovakia.

It’s a relatively small amount of money, but the promise of expansion, along with the fact those funds will be used expressly to get countries onto American-made products, likely means European defense firms will keep a wary eye on the program’s future, once they fully get wind of it.

Read the full article and more in Defense News.