Areas of Expertise

Security and defense policy
Military drones and military technology
Defense industry
Future of war
Air power

Short Bio

Dr. Emil Archambault is a senior policy fellow in the Center for Security and Defense at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). His work focuses on the security and military impacts of militarized drones and emerging technologies, as well as on broader themes relating to armament, defense cooperation, and defense-industrial policy. His research also examines the development of future combat air systems and other future military capabilities.

Until September 2026, Archambault was an Addison Wheeler Postdoctoral Fellow at Durham University’s School of Government and International Affairs and Institute of Advanced Study. From July 2025 to June 2026, he was a British Academy Global Innovation Fellow at DGAP. He has published academic and general interest work on topics that include remote warfare, the drone programs of violent non-state actors, and drone imagery in Islamic State propaganda.

Archambault earned his PhD at Durham University in 2021. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Ottawa that was supported by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Department of National Defence MINDS Initiative. He holds a MPhil (research) in international political theory from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Languages

English, German, French, Swedish

[Last updated: October 2026]

Dr. Emil Archambault

Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Security and Defense

E-Mail

archambault@dgap.org

Publications

An air defense system from Diehl Defence on an exhibition stand.

How Non-EU Defense Companies Can Strengthen European Defense

Dr. Emil Archambault

Such companies should be bound into European industrial ecosystems to help reduce foreign dependencies in critical capabilities.

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

Dr. 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

Dr. 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

Dr. 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

Dr. Emil Archambault

Max Becker

Dr. 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.