When it comes to improving Europe’s defence capabilities, there appears to be no shortage of catalysts for action – the publication of the EU’s Global Strategy, NATO’s Warsaw Summit, further devastating terror attacks within Europe’s borders and the dark stain of unrelenting violence spreading throughout the Middle East and Africa. There have been wake-up calls before, yet European defence capabilities remain parlous, as fragmentation continues and gaps persist in national militaries. In fact, there has been no work undertaken to elaborate a relevant defence capability requirement since 2008, and that was only a superficial update of the original Headline Goal from June 2000.[...]