The United States has long understood a simple truth: war is not won alone, but by speed and creativity. In fact, innovation was always decisive in conflict. Armor made a knight until the crossbow came. High walls protected cities until cannons appeared. The trenches were outdated by rapidly moving mechanized forces. The lesson: A military that is not innovative is one that falls back.
Nevertheless, Europe remains an outdated model of the procurement of defense – one that favors a handful of inflated contractors who do the same old thing about the fresh ideas of startups and entrepreneurs. Against the background of serious geopolitical unrest and diplomatic realignment, this has to change.
The gap between the USA and Europe in the defense innovation is striking. At least 25% of the US defense contracts go to small companies – startups and specialist companies that build up future conflict technology. This is not an accident. The US government has intentionally promoted an environment in which defense innovation thrives.
The key to success is the agency for defense research projects (DARPA), an institution that supports risky but potentially transformative projects, and the defense innovation Unit (DIU), which helps the military to adopt aspiring innovations. Her projects also had enormous effects on civilian technologies. For example, it was Darpa financing that led to the first self-driving cars. Many engineers took part in a Darpa challenge that offered teams that could develop autonomous vehicles that were able to navigate difficult terrain without human interventions. This led to the start of Waymo, an autonomous vehicle company worth 35 billion GBP.
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In contrast, Europe remains connected to a outdated system. In Great Britain, a handful of defense companies dominate the government's procurement and leave little space for disruptive newcomers in critical areas such as Advanced materials. On the continent, defense startups are treated as speculative companies rather than an essential participant for national security. The result is an industry that moves too slowly, costs too much and the dynamics that is required for modern warfare are missing. In addition, private investors regional cultural reluctance to defend money and they have a problem.
It is ironic that this culture, which was deliberately promoted after two world wars to avoid inter-European conflicts, is now becoming an obstacle to the protection of Europe. In other words, the largest peace project in the world is now threatened if it is not taken to take the necessary steps in order to become conflict.
Europe needs a new ecosystem for defense technology
Nowhere are the costs of our complacency more clear than in Ukraine. There the war was redesigned by innovation. Small, nimble startups have built up the inexpensive drones that decrease enemy tanks worth millions. Engineers fresh from the university are programming weapons that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. This is the nature of modern warfare: high-tech, decentralized and under the direction of those who can repeat and adapt the fastest.
I personally emphasized the political decision -makers in my home Germany that it not only supports a very dangerous dependency on some suppliers to support new technology trids. These suppliers could dictate terms or hold back critical resources in times of crisis.
Europe has to rethink its defense industrial strategy from scratch – and then start moving. The first step is the common procurement. A fragmented defense market on which every country insists on having its own suppliers and prefering its own national champions only weakens Europe as a whole. We have a variety of Incompatible weapons systems for this reason. Europe could set up a basic standard for shared procurement and could create a defense ecosystem that is more competitive, cost -effective and more resistant.
Second, supply chains must be diversified and checked. The war in Ukraine has uncovered how endangered the supply networks in Europe are for disorders. A continent that cannot reliably produce and distribute the materials required during war is a continent that has already lost the fight. The guarantee of a constant and safe river of critical resources should be a priority and not a subsequent thought. There are serious gaps in our supply chains. These have to be closed – quickly.
We have to support entrepreneurs
The European governments also have to change the way they think about procurement. Startups cannot thrive if they are excluded from large contracts from the start. Governments must follow the US model: funds take brave ideas, calculated risks and support innovators before They prove themselves on the scale.
Defense innovations do not occur in session halls of established companies. It happens in the laboratories and workshops of those who are willing to challenge the status quo. The financial risk of supporting these young, hungry entrepreneurs is placed in the shadow by the threats for security, which can result from neglect.
European investments in defense startups are absolutely important and I deliberately choose this word. Nowadays a single drone can paralyze a convoy. A well -placed electronic war tool can make an air defense system useless. A targeted electromagnetic impulse (EMP) that is detonated via the continent could darken Europe overnight. AI-controlled jamming can make enemy satellites blind. These technologies shape the future of warfare. They exist now and they are increasingly accessible.
In short, the conflicts of the future are not obtained by people with the largest armies, but by people with the best technology, the fastest decision -making and the most adaptable systems. The European governments are already behind the competition. If you don't act now, you may be permanent.
It is time for Europe to see what the United States has understood for decades: innovation wins wars. And innovation begins to disturb with those who dare.
