European air-defense missiles and the size of their user fleet

European launchers and missiles are offered as alternatives already available within the wider NATO system. Sea Viper and the Standard Missile family are judged broadly comparable in the discussion. The Aster programme's problem is described as the limited number of ships using it, which constrains the pool of missiles and operators. Combining European effort could increase that scale. The panel also warns that governments might turn expected efficiencies into cuts or preserve existing national programmes instead of consolidating them.