At the height of the Cold War, Europe stood as a fortress against the threat of Soviet aggression. The continent fielded its own armies, built its own tanks, flew its own fighters, and commanded an industrial and technological base strong enough to deter adversaries and project strength across the world. European security was not outsourced, it was engineered at home.

But when the Soviet Union fell, so too did Europe’s drive. The enemy at the gates receded, and with it, so did our urgency. We declared history over, off-loaded our arsenals, and traded our factories for the luxury of complacency. Security became a line item; innovation a spectator sport. We turned our attention away from innovation to regulation, climate targets, and migration. Noble goals, but ones pursued at the cost of our future.

Now, nearly half a century later, we face the consequences. Much of Europe’s defense industry has been sold off, critical production capacity has withered, and leadership in frontier technologies — from AI to advanced weapons systems — has been ceded to others. The continent that once built its own shield has become dependent, fragmented, and slow to act. Every day, we fall further and further behind on building the technology that will project power and create economic opportunity for the next 50 years. Our adversaries know this. It is time we remember who we were — and reclaim who we must become.