Areas of Expertise

Security and defense policy
Military drones and armed drones
Security and technology
Future of war

Short Bio

Dr. Emil Archambault is an associate fellow in the Center for Security and Defense at the German Council on Foreign Relations where he previously served as a British Academy Global Innovation Fellow. He works particularly on the security and military impacts of militarized drones and the implications of emerging technologies on security and defense, as well as broader themes relating to armament, security technologies, and defense policy. In addition, he examines public debates concerning defense and military affairs as well as the use of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) in shaping democratic debates on uses of force.

Archambault is also an Addison Wheeler Postdoctoral Fellow at Durham University’s School of Government and International Affairs and Institute of Advanced Study. He has published academic and general interest work on topics that include remote warfare, violent non-state actors’ drone programs, and drone imagery in Islamic State propaganda. He completed his PhD at Durham University in 2021 and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa, supported by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Department of National Defence MINDS Initiative. Additionally, he holds an MPhil (research) in international political theory from the University of St Andrews, UK.

Languages

English, German, French, Swedish

[Last updated: July 2026]

Emil Archambault

Associate Fellow, Center for Security and Defense

E-Mail

archambault@dgap.org

Publications

European Defense and Green Industry Need a Common Approach to Critical Minerals

Emil Archambault

Loyle Campbell

Nina Locher

Steps should be taken immediately by Germany and the EU to ensure a reliable, secure, and sustainable supply of critical minerals to European industry.

Mock up display of FCAS Fighter Jet During Paris Air Show 2023

The Restructuring of FCAS

A Learning Opportunity for European Defense

Emil Archambault

In its failures, FCAS demonstrates how the structural industrial, political, and strategic constraints that will affect all European defense projects can be managed to ensure a stronger European defense ecosystem.

FCAS Fighter Jet During Paris Air Show 2023 Mock up display at Paris

FCAS & NGF: Ein Ausweg aus der Sackgasse

Emil Archambault

Das Drama um FCAS soll in den kommenden Tagen zu Ende gehen. Das Programm ist nicht zwangsläufig zum Scheitern verurteilt.

To Ensure Its Security, Europe Needs a Stronger Hand in NATO

Emil Archambault

Max Becker

Patrick Keller

Under Donald Trump, American national interests and NATO’s multilateral security commitments are not aligned. While Europe cannot – and should not – reject the United States, it must take ownership of its security.

July 14, 2025, Paris,July 14, 2025, Paris, France: Emmanuel Macron and General Thierry Bukhard

Frankreichs aktualisierte Sicherheitsstrategie und ihre Bedeutung für Deutschland

Jacob Ross

Emil Archambault

Nicolas Téterchen

et al.

German Defense Minister Pistorius and French Defense Minister Lecornu in Osnabrück on July 24, 2025

How FCAS Can Move Forward

Emil Archambault

The French-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) is the subject of heavy disagreements about the allocation of work. Germany must approach this dispute with a constructive view to the future. The success of FCAS will not only determine the development of Germany’s national defense industry and armed forces over the next decades but also shape combat concepts for the better part of the 21st century.