Peter Round joined the European Defence Agency (EDA) in 2012 to lead its armaments and capability development efforts. His directorate oversees one of the agency's most diverse portfolios and - as cross-border military capability tends to develop slowly - one of its toughest for delivering concrete results. However, that may be about to change, given the nod EU leaders gave their bureaucracies during their December 2013 summit to accelerate joint development on four flagship goals: air-to-air refuelling, unmanned aerial systems, cyber defence, and satellite communications (satcoms). Round and his team are also set on achieving several additional capability goals. In his view, the summit signals merely confirm the permanent new approach the EDA's 27 member states (all EU countries except Denmark) have adopted on capability co-operation, he told IHS Jane's.
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