Allied For Startups’ Reaction to the EU Defence Industry Transformation Roadmap

Allied For Startups welcomes the publication of the EU Defence Industry Transformation Roadmap. The document marks an important shift in EU defence thinking: it places speed, agility and risk-taking at the heart of Europe’s future industrial model – and acknowledges that startups and dual-use innovators are central to getting there.

The Roadmap is grounded in the reality that the war in Ukraine and rapid advances in technologies such as AI, autonomy, cyber, quantum and advanced manufacturing are reshaping defence at a pace that traditional processes cannot match.

Several elements are particularly welcome from a startup perspective:

1. Stronger EU–Ukraine innovation bridge: Upgrading the Kyiv office into an EU Defence Industry Office to ensure battlefield-driven innovation feeds into EU programmes.
2. New scale-up pathway: A Commission–EIB €1 billion Fund of Funds to provide growth capital and close Europe’s late-stage financing gap.
3. Better Single Market tools: Using 28th regime concepts to reduce fragmentation and make it easier for startups to scale across borders.
4. European Defence Data Space: A trusted, interoperable data environment to support AI-enabled and other dual-use capabilities.
5. Closer collaboration with end-users: New EUDIS Tech Alliances will connect startups and armed forces around priority capability needs.
6. Modernised procurement: Encouraging Member States to allocate 10% of procurement to emerging technologies and revising the Defence Procurement Directive.
7. Talent development: The Skills Guarantee pilot and EU Defence Industry Talent Platform to help startups access needed skills.

The challenge ahead is fast and effective implementation. AFS stands ready to support the Commission, Member States and the defence innovation community to ensure these measures translate into real opportunities for founders building Europe’s next generation of critical technologies.