EVOLUTION OF THE DRIVERS FOR BALLISTIC MISSILE ACQUISITION

4 June 2025

Vienna 

On 4 June 2025, the FRS organised a side event in the margins of the HCoC Annual Regular Meeting.

AGENDA

In many regions, a number of countries are currently developing or acquiring ballistic missiles. In addition to geopolitical factors, technological developments are modifying the role of ballistic missiles in military strategy: on the one hand, they are increasingly precise and some have the ability to aim very specific targets, on the other hand, the generalisation of missile defence means that relatively simple short-range systems can lose their relevance.

This side event assessed the drivers of ballistic missile proliferation and explore the role of arms control and confidence building measures in the current context.

 

Introduction

  • Mr Stefan Tressing, Deputy Head of Division, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Export Control, European External Action Service (EEAS), European Union

  • Amb. Alex Wetzig Abdale, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Chile to the International Organisations in Vienna, HCoC Chair 2024-2025

  • Amb. Alejando Garofali Acosta, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the International Organisations in Vienna, HCoC Chair 2025-2026

 

Main session: Evolution of the Drivers for Ballistic Missile Acquisition

 MODERATOR:

  • Mr Alexandre Houdayer, Secretary General, FRS


PANELLISTS:

  • Prof. Sitki Egeli, Associate Professor, Izmir University of Economics

  • Dr Polina Sinovets, Head of Odessa Center for Nonproliferation

  • Dr Javed Alam, Research Associate, Centre for Air Power Studies, HCoC Youth Group

  • Ms Eva-Nour Repussard, Policy Fellow at BASIC, HCoC Youth Group

  • Ms Emmanuelle Maitre, Senior Research Fellow, FRS

Research Papers

Limiting the proliferation of WMD means of delivery: a low-profile approach to bypass diplomatic deadlocks

Since the creation of the HCoC in 2002, the need for more collective commitment and action to fight the proliferation of ballistic missiles has certainly not decreased. The destabilizing nature of these weapons has not changed. Non-proliferation is just less about keeping the world stable and more about not adding a risk factor to an uncertain future. The HCoC was and remains a response to that need, but certainly not the end of the quest for improvement.

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Research Papers

Hypersonic missiles: Evolution or revolution for missile non-proliferation and arms control instruments?

After listing major programmes and key drivers beyond the acquisition of these technologies, this paper considers their development under the prism of arms control, and analyses whether current mechanisms (non-proliferation arrangements, bilateral arms control treaties and confidence-building measures) dealing with missiles are adapted to these weapons.

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