Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija

This article analyses the challenges and perspectives of the European Union's security and defence policy in a new geopolitical era shaped by Russian aggression against Ukraine, growing US-China rivalry, and instability in the EU's neighbourhood. It identifies three key weaknesses that limit the Union's strategic autonomy: insufficient military capabilities, the fragmentation of the defence industry, and a reliance on external suppliers of weapons, equipment, and critical raw materials. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework that combines political economy, political science, European studies, and security studies, the article examines how existing tools and initiatives, the EDF, PESCO, ASAP, EDIRPA, and the ReArm Europe plan, are responding to these deficits. While these instruments and initiatives demonstrate the EU's ambition to strengthen its security role, their effectiveness remains limited by political divergences and restricted resources. The author concludes that overcoming fragmentation and building sustainable mechanisms for defence cooperation are essential if the EU is to establish itself as a credible security actor in a multipolar world.

This paper explores the potentialities and constraints of building the European Union's strategic autonomy in a new geopolitical era marked by the rivalry between the United States and China, the weakening of the multilateral order, and the consequences of the war in Ukraine. The authors primarily focus on the political, economic, and technological dimensions of autonomy, utilising relevant scientific methods within an interdisciplinary research framework, primarily the analytical-synthetic method, content and comparative analysis, as well as the scenario approach. The findings indicate that the EU is capable of progressively reducing its dependency through the diversification of resources, investments in development, research, and innovation, and the strengthening of digital and technological sovereignty. Simultaneously, however, the Union faces serious limitations, the fiscal constraints of the Member States, the fragmentation of its foreign and security policy, and a persistent reliance on the United States in the area of defence. The EU’s future position will therefore hinge on its ability to consolidate its economic and technological potential and transform it into a unified political will and a credible geopolitical power.

Personal body armor has evolved to address threats typical of contemporary warfare. Artillery effects, particularly fragmentation, have become a significant threat to military personnel, increasing the demand for effective protective solutions. This paper proposes a combined analytical–experimental framework for evaluating the effectiveness of personal body armor against artillery fragmentation. Fragmentation characteristics are examined using mathematical modeling and analytical methods. Additionally, existing body armor evaluation standards and testing methods are reviewed. The results indicate that fragmentation represents the dominant lethal mechanism of artillery fire. Although the V50 ballistic test is commonly used to assess fragment resistance, it does not provide a comprehensive evaluation of real-world protection effectiveness. These findings highlight the need for more advanced and realistic assessment methods.

The rapid spread of unmanned aerial vehicles and loitering munitions has created a new class of threats for critical infrastructure, especially for facilities that depend on uninterrupted operation and contain exposed roof and wall assemblies. In such an environment, the design of protective systems can no longer focus only on conventional lateral threats or on isolated single-impact scenarios. Instead, it must address repeated fragmentation exposure, localized cumulative damage, and the need to preserve functionality after attack. This paper develops a standalone conference contribution based primarily on the ballistic material evaluation presented in Chapter 5 of the source study. The text focuses on the structural characteristics, test response, and engineering applicability of rigid glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) panels and flexible Twaron T730 aramid systems for infrastructure protection. Two GFRP panels with nominal thicknesses of 12.2 mm and 14 mm were evaluated under ballistic loading, while rear-face deformation was measured by laser profilometry and internal damage was assessed using digital radiography. In parallel, a multilayer Twaron T730 aramid configuration was used as a comparative flexible barrier system. The results confirm that rigid GFRP panels provide stable mechanical resistance, controlled rear-face deformation, and a low probability of catastrophic penetration under the tested conditions. The radiographic evaluation further shows that internal damage zones can significantly exceed visibly damaged areas, highlighting the importance of non-destructive inspection for reliable post-impact assessment. The aramid system demonstrates favorable energy absorption under moderate impact loading, but it also reaches its limits under repeated higher-energy events. Based on the combined results, the paper argues that rigid composite panels are the most suitable primary protective element for large-area infrastructure applications, while aramid systems are best employed as supplementary internal layers or as part of a hybrid configuration. The findings are discussed in relation to roof protection, multi-hit resistance, modular retrofitting, and the practical design of protective envelopes for critical infrastructure exposed to fragmentation hazards.