New Wings for Europe : Western European Strategic Cooperation and Integration in the Aerospace Field : Ariane and Eurofighter, 1973–1985

This thesis deals with the history of the European Integration process through the study of the aerospace cooperation during the 1970s and 1980s. In this thesis, I do not approach the European integration process through the traditional narrative or the international relations (institutions, nations, etc…), but through the lens of technology and the so-called “hidden integration”. In fact, this work uses technology to look at the political and industrial processes that involved governments, scientists, and organizations, and fostered the European integration process. The chronology and the mirror-like structure of this work is based on my two case studies: the European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) and the Ariane launcher. They both went through similar development phases (i.e. debates, feasibility studies, industrial agreements, launches/flights) and during the same decades. I decided to analyse Ariane and EFA because they are the first successful European projects led and produced exclusively by European countries. My aim is to show how EFA and Ariane played a crucial role in boosting the European construction as ‘hidden’ tools for integration, but also in leading the Western European countries to seek and achieve independence in the air and space industry and market.