Mark Boris Andrijanic is the former Minister of Digital Transformation of Slovenia. Anne Mettler is the former Director-General of the European Commission. They have decades of experience in European technology and innovation policy.
Imagine autonomous drones striking enemy targets on land, at sea, and in the air; cyberattacks disrupting vital supply lines; and frontline troops using AI to plan their next attack. This is not a scene from a futuristic thriller — this is the reality of the war in Ukraine today.
As Russian aggression approaches the EU’s borders and the transatlantic alliance weakens, Europe is at an inflection point. After years of neglect, defence budgets are finally taking off – but if past performance is any indication of future results, there is cause for concern.
The EU has invested hundreds of billions in digital and green agendas, backed by bold ambition and aspirations for global leadership. Yet it remains heavily dependent on American software and Chinese hardware, from solar panels to batteries. This reveals a harsh truth: spending alone does not guarantee innovation. And in defense, failure will not just be costly – it could be fatal.
That is why Europe urgently needs a comprehensive game plan that learns from the mistakes of the past and anticipates future needs and capabilities. The European Commission’s White Paper on Defence and recent initiatives – in particular the SAFE Instrument – provide a solid foundation. Importantly, these efforts recognise that Europe’s rearmament must be as much about industrial and technological policy as it is about defence itself.
The first priority should be a single common defence market anchored in the EU but extending to key partners such as the UK, Norway, Switzerland and Ukraine. Regulatory audits are needed to determine whether existing frameworks – from ESG and data protection to taxonomy – create unnecessary barriers, particularly for dual-use technologies often developed by start-ups. Common standards and interoperability are needed to scale innovation, stimulate competition and close capability gaps, while joint procurement will help reduce costs.
The ultimate goal should be a fully integrated ecosystem that produces European defence champions capable of competing on a global level. Currently, only one European company, Britain’s BAE Systems, is among the world’s top 10 defence firms. Germany’s Rheinmetall is only 26th, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Rheinmetall's stand at the Enforce Tac security technology fair. Photo: Daniel Karmann/dpa (Photo by Daniel Karmann/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Secondly, unlocking private and institutional investment is key. The stigma that links defence and dual-use businesses with industries such as tobacco or pornography must be quickly dispelled. Financial institutions need clear regulatory guidance to confidently invest in the European defence industry.
Third, the lax rules and procedures of European defence procurement need to be brought into line with today’s innovation cycles, often in just a few months, especially in areas such as drone development. The defence sector has a key advantage: unlike civilian industries, which are typically tightly regulated, it can rapidly innovate. This advantage must now be exploited through rapid testing and scaling. To ensure this, procurement teams must operate at the cutting edge of technology, which requires upskilling and embedding with technologists. Moreover, a European preferential clause should be included in defence procurement, giving priority to domestic suppliers where possible.
Fourth, Europe needs an ecosystem approach to defence innovation that actively encourages collaboration between established industry players, start-ups and scale-ups, investors, governments and research institutions. Policymakers too often take one approach to industry and another to start-ups, when the secret to success lies in collaboration between the two.
A dedicated cooperation platform should be created that focuses on strategic initiatives and is supported by incentives for joint projects and technology transfer. One such initiative could be the launch of a “drone wall” along the Eastern Flank: the coordinated deployment of autonomous swarms of drones for surveillance and defense.
Fifth and finally, Europe needs its own version of DARPA – a bold, challenge-oriented public innovation agency that supports high-risk, high-reward research to deliver breakthroughs in dual-use and defence technologies. This will require transforming the European Defence Fund into a better-resourced, more flexible and mission-focused institution.
To help guide these transformative efforts, the EU should create a European Defence Innovation Board – a high-level, independent body providing strategic advice to the European Commission and member states on emerging defence technologies. The model is the US Defence Innovation Board, created in 2016 and first chaired by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. It played a key role in shaping the Pentagon’s innovation strategy, incorporating Silicon Valley best practices and accelerating the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, most notably AI.
The good news for Europe is that the world’s leading defence innovator is already among us, and on our side is Ukraine. Despite intense wartime pressure, the country has emerged as a leader in drone technology, cyber warfare and the integration of AI on the battlefield. Unlike Europe’s slow and expensive incremental innovation model, Ukraine excels at lean innovation to quickly deliver scalable, cost-effective and highly efficient solutions. Remarkably, it now produces over 150,000 drones per month, surpassing the entire EU.
It is often said that those who want peace must prepare for war. For Europe, this means breaking with the past and creating a defence ecosystem that can deliver breakthrough technologies quickly and at scale. The European Commission’s recent efforts represent bold steps in the right direction, but real progress will depend on coordinated institutional efforts, deep collaboration with the European tech community and a fundamental change in thinking.
Ukraine has shown that modern warfare is a fusion of World War I and World War III, combining trench warfare with advanced technology. Unless Europe learns to master both, its security, sovereignty, and very survival will be at stake.
Source: Source
