Beranda Perang Europes defense startups are losing the rearmament race

Europes defense startups are losing the rearmament race

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<&sol;svg>&&num;13&semi;&NewLine; <&sol;a><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;<&sol;p><a class&equals;”share-button-item share-button-item–facebook” href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;facebook&period;com&sol;sharer&sol;sharer&period;php&quest;u&equals;https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;theparliamentmagazine&period;eu&percnt;2fnews&percnt;2farticle&percnt;2feuropes-defense-startups-are-losing-the-rearmament-race” target&equals;”&lowbar;blank” rel&equals;”noopener” aria-label&equals;””>&&num;13&semi;&NewLine; <svg xmlns&equals;”http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;w3&period;org&sol;2000&sol;svg” viewbox&equals;”0 0 24 24″>&&num;13&semi;&NewLine; <path d&equals;”M18&period;77 7&period;46H14&period;5v-1&period;9c0-&period;9&period;6-1&period;1 1-1&period;1h3V&period;5h-4&period;33C10&period;24&period;5 9&period;5 3&period;44 9&period;5 5&period;32v2&period;15h-3v4h3v12h5v-12h3&period;85l&period;42-4z”&sol;>&&num;13&semi;&NewLine; <&sol;svg>&&num;13&semi;&NewLine; <&sol;a><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine; <&sol;p><&sol;div><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine; <&sol;p><&sol;div><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine; &NewLine; <&sol;p><p><span><span>Despite the sharp increase in European defense spending since Russia's invasion of Ukraine&comma; most funding continues to flow to legacy defense giants rather than the startups developing the next generation of military technologies&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>According <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;bruegel&period;org&sol;policy-brief&sol;reforming-european-defence-procurement-boost-military-innovation-and-startups”><span><span><span><span>to an analysis<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> by the Brussels-based economic think tank Bruegel&comma; between 67&percnt; and 90&percnt; of military procurement in Poland&comma; the United Kingdom and Germany still go to the top ten global defense manufacturers&period; By contrast&comma; only 36&percnt; goes to the top ten in the more innovation-driven U&period;S&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p>Analysts and investors warn that unless governments do more to support smaller firms&comma; Europe could miss out on the technologies shaping the future battlefield — from drones and robotics to electronic warfare&period; The risk is especially acute on a continent already struggling to invest enough in R&amp&semi;D across sectors&period;<&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>The rearmament boom’s <&sol;span><&sol;span><span><span>tough procurement questions are inevitably fueling tensions between traditional arms manufacturers and emerging startups competing for a share of Europe's expanding defense industrial base&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>Germany — which aims to become Europe's leading military power — illustrates the challenge&period; Last year&comma; German military equipment spending rose to <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;kielinstitut&period;de&sol;publications&sol;news&sol;big-spending-little-future-germany-is-rearming-differently-from-poland-and-the-uk&sol;”><span><span><span><span>€85 billion<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span>&comma; but the share of contracts awarded to innovative technologies has fallen by more than half since 2020&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It is very striking to see that there’s no increase in spending on the new stuff over the last six years in Germany&comma;†said Guntram Wolff&comma; a senior fellow at Bruegel specializing in defense markets&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I understand that we have to replenish stocks &lbrack;with legacy companies&rsqb;&comma; but not to invest in anything new is a big strategic mistake&period;â€Â <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p> <&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p&sol;><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><h2><strong><span>The EU’s procurement<&sol;span><&sol;strong><span><span> <&sol;span><&sol;span><strong><span>question<&sol;span><&sol;strong><&sol;h2><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022&comma; more than 230 defense tech startups have been founded across Europe&period; Some have secured contracts directly with national governments&comma; but there is still no structured framework for cooperation between legacy defense firms and newer players in the sector&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Competition between primes and smaller actors matters&comma; but the key issue in Europe is that cooperation and procurement routes for smaller innovative companies are not yet systematic enough&comma;†said Enzo Terrier&comma; a tech investor at Move Capital&comma; a growth equity fund that has invested in European defense tech startups including ICEYE and Shark Robotics&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>For Portugal's Tekever&comma; one of Europe's few unicorns specializing in AI-driven autonomy solutions&comma; the disruption caused by innovative newcomers is a reflection of how the market is evolving&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We just need to acknowledge that there are new needs that need to be addressed&comma;†Pedro Petiz&comma; Tekever's director of strategic development&comma; told <&sol;span><em>The Parliament<&sol;em><&sol;span><span><span> in an interview in the Portuguese coastal city of Estoril&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;What I expect to see is an increasing cooperation between hard power and software-driven solutions&period;â€Â <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>But making that new defense ecosystem work will require greater efforts to integrate innovation and cutting-edge technologies from smaller firms into Europe's procurement processes&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;If you go through a traditional process&comma; it is a nightmare&comma;†Petiz said&period; He cited current systems that are designed for companies with longer production cycles and place less emphasis on speed&comma; agility and iterative development&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;That’s the trade-off we need to take into account&comma; which is the speed of technology versus a minimum fair process that you need to come to&comma; but which must be manageable&period;â€Â <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>Terrier agreed&comma; saying Europe's bureaucracy-heavy procurement systems and national fragmentation make it difficult for smaller startups to compete&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;There is a path&comma; but it remains difficult to navigate&colon; procurement cycles are long… &lbrack;and&rsqb; requirements are not always aligned with startup development cycles&period;â€<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>With Europe generally less willing to take risks than the U&period;S&period;&comma; public support and investment play an even greater role in helping startups grow&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>The European Commission has proposed several initiatives aimed at supporting the sector&comma; including a <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;ec&period;europa&period;eu&sol;commission&sol;presscorner&sol;detail&sol;en&sol;ip&lowbar;26&lowbar;687″><span><span><span><span>€115 million program<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> for agile and rapid defense innovation and cooperation frameworks with Ukraine's defense industry&period; But the EU's room for maneuver remains limited&comma; leaving national governments responsible for driving meaningful reform&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>Wolff argued that procurement reform should become a central pillar of Europe's broader defense reorientation&period; He said <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;bruegel&period;org&sol;policy-brief&sol;reforming-european-defence-procurement-boost-military-innovation-and-startups”><span><span><span><span>measures<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> such as involving innovative firms earlier in the acquisition process or encouraging multiple companies to collaborate on new technologies could prove transformative&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>A clearer path toward procurement contracts could also help address one of Europe's longstanding barriers to <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;theparliamentmagazine&period;eu&sol;news&sol;article&sol;can-europe-deliver-more-unicorns”><span><span><span><span>scaling startups<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span>&colon; access to capital&period;  <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;If you have that and if you can show that you are on the pipeline to get orders in&comma; then you can go to the capital markets and actually raise funding relatively easily&comma;†Wolff said&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><h2><strong><span>Ukraine's drone lessons<&sol;span><&sol;strong><span><span> <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;h2><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>Across the West&comma; countries are pursuing different strategies for modernizing their military procurement ecosystems and resolving the tension between large legacy &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;primes†and smaller innovative startups&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>Ukraine's success in quickly outfitting its army with new drone technology has drawn the attention of military planners throughout Europe and beyond&period; A key part of their strategy is a <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;digitalstate&period;gov&period;ua&sol;news&sol;tech&sol;brave1-market-ukrayina-zapuskaye-marketpleys-viyskovykh-innovatsiy”><span><span><span><span>digital procurement platform<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> called Brave1&comma; which has also been <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;cepa&period;org&sol;article&sol;pick-and-mix-ukraine-opens-an-amazon-for-weaponry&sol;”><span><span><span><span>dubbed an &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Amazonâ€<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> for weapons&period; Typically&comma; procurement for innovative technologies such as drones&comma; ground robotics&comma; AI-powered tools and electronic warfare tools comes from the central government&semi; but individual Ukrainian brigades and battalions across the army are able to order directly on the Brave platform&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>Legacy weapons such as artillery&comma; ammunition&comma; armored vehicles and missiles still are channeled though the central government&period; The Brave1 system reflects the rapidly changing conditions on the battlefield in Ukraine&comma; where technologies can become obsolete in a matter of months&period; It's also helped Ukrainian arms producers become some of the most innovative in the world&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>However&comma; trying to replicate the Ukrainian innovation model in Germany and the rest of Europe could backfire&comma; according to Emil Archambault&comma; a fellow at the German Council for Foreign Relations&period; In Ukraine&comma; units only kilometers apart can have completely different weapons systems&period; As Germany and Europe scales its defense industry within NATO&comma; he said it's important to have innovative but standardized equipment&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The decentralized approach&comma; which is key in terms of Ukraine&comma; is not something that we can copy directly&comma;†Tomasz Husak&comma; <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;theparliamentmagazine&period;eu&sol;news&sol;article&sol;how-ukraines-untapped-potential-could-bolster-europes-security”><span><span><span><span>director for defense policy<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> at the Commission&comma; said at an event organized by Friends for Europe in March&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><h2><strong><span>Germany's dilemma&comma; America's model<&sol;span><&sol;strong><span><span> <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;h2><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>Germany is trying to create an innovation ecosystem too&comma; according to Archambault&comma; but at a scale and a level of uniformity not seen in Ukraine&period; The country is in the midst of <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;hartpunkt&period;de&sol;bundeswehr-beschaffungsamt-baainbw-erhaelt-matrix-organisation-flexiblere-beschaffungsprozesse-und-neue-standorte&sol;”><span><span><span><span>major reforms<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> of its procurement process to make it easier for startups to access contracts&period; In recent years&comma; it has launched innovation-oriented hubs for startups such as the government-backed venture fund <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;sprind&period;org&sol;en&sol;actions&sol;projects”><span><span><span><span>SPRIND-D<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> and the German army's <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;cyberinnovationhub&period;de&sol;en&sol;”><span><span><span><span>Cyber Innovation Hub<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span>&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>Nevertheless&comma; the vast majority of the country's defense spending is still going towards legacy companies&comma; and the gap is still growing&comma; according to a recent study by the Kiel Institute&period; Before the war in Ukraine began&comma; Germany procured 21&percnt; of its arms from innovative suppliers&period; In 2025&comma; the figure was only 9&percnt;&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p> <&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p&sol;><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>However&comma; the relatively small amount spent on smaller companies can be misleading&comma; according to Archambault&comma; since Germany still needs to plug legacy capability gaps from decades of underinvestment in its military&period; Large&comma; expensive systems such as fighter aircraft&comma; Leopard tanks and the Taurus cruise missile are not the kind of products that tend to be developed by startups&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>In Germany&comma; the tension between primes and startups are on full display in the race between Germany's legacy weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall and startups like Helsing and Stark&period; Rheinmetall&comma; Germany's legacy weapons manufacturer&comma; gobbled up nearly €<&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;bruegel&period;org&sol;policy-brief&sol;reforming-european-defence-procurement-boost-military-innovation-and-startups”><span><span><span><span>13 billion in German contracts<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> last year alone&comma; according to Bruegel&period; The company has set its sights on nearly all parts of <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;ft&period;com&sol;content&sol;a326b178-4389-40f7-9979-a1b878e94c3d&quest;syn-25a6b1a6&equals;1″><span><span><span><span>Germany's<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> vast increase in defense spending&comma; even in innovative technologies like drones&period;  <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>Stark and Helsing won a major German drone deal finalized in February&comma; one of the few<&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;ft&period;com&sol;content&sol;eea27ca8-75e4-4d8a-90e7-bbf98d90ece1&quest;syn-25a6b1a6&equals;1″><span><span><span><span> examples of Rheinmetall<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> losing out on a major contract&period; Rheinmetall was <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;rheinmetall&period;com&sol;en&sol;media&sol;news-watch&sol;news&sol;2026&sol;04&sol;2026-04-22-rheinmetall-receives-major-contract-in-the-drone-sector”><span><span><span><span>later added<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> to the drone procurement&period; Rheinmetall has also taken flack in Germany for CEO Armin Papperger's recent comments <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;theatlantic&period;com&sol;national-security&sol;2026&sol;04&sol;ukraines-housewives-versus-rheinmetalls-ceo&sol;686666&sol;”><span><span><span><span>knocking &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Ukrainian housewivesâ€<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> for being behind Ukraine's drone industry&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;They don't necessarily see their role as being at the forefront of innovation&comma;†said Archambault&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;But they are happy to invest resources in new technologies where opportunities manifest themselves&period;â€<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>The U&period;S&period; continues to be focused on increasing innovation within its procurement process&period; Already a much larger percentage of U&period;S&period; defense procurement goes to startups than in Europe&comma; but the Pentagon wants to <&sol;span><&sol;span><a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;wsj&period;com&sol;business&sol;defense-startups-get-boost-as-pentagon-looks-beyond-biggest-contractors-5be662f5″><span><span><span><span>make it even easier<&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;a><span><span> for smaller firms to access contracts&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>A new U&period;S&period; procurement strategy released last fall explicitly identified support for startups as a key priority for the federal government&comma; although Washington's success in integrating smaller firms into the defense sector dates back to reforms introduced in the 2010s&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>According to Wolff&comma; those procurement reforms led to the creation of key enablers such as the Small Business Innovation Research program and the Defense Innovation Unit&comma; which helped integrate companies like Anduril Industries into the U&period;S&period; defense ecosystem&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The U&period;S&period; had a deliberate effort to get these innovative firms from Silicon Valley into military defense procurement&comma;†he added&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;p><p><span><span>Wolff concluded that for Europe to protect its interests and security&comma; as well as play a strategic role in modern warfare&comma; national governments should study the experiences of both the U&period;S&period; and Ukraine&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><span><span>Then it's time to decide what reforms to their own procurement systems make the most sense&period; <&sol;span><&sol;span><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;<&sol;p><div class&equals;”midarticle-ads”><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;<&sol;p><&excl;—————– ScrollAd Tag —————–><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”> <&sol;p><p&sol;><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;<&sol;p><div class&equals;”col–ad col–ad-inArticle”><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;<&sol;p><p>&&num;13&semi;&NewLine; 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inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine; <&sol;p><&sol;div><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine; &NewLine; <&sol;p><p><strong>Sign up to <i>The Parliament’s<&sol;i> weekly newsletter<&sol;strong><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine; <&sol;p><p><em>Every Friday our editorial team goes behind the headlines to offer insight and analysis on the key stories driving the EU agenda&period; <a href&equals;”https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;theparliamentmagazine&period;eu&sol;more&sol;newsletter-registration&period;htm&quest;utm&lowbar;source&equals;footnote&amp&semi;utm&lowbar;medium&equals;footnote&amp&semi;utm&lowbar;campaign&equals;newsletter”>Subscribe for free here<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine; &NewLine;&NewLine; <&sol;p><div class&equals;”av-most-recent” WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability&equals;”4&period;9333333333333″><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine; <&sol;p><p>Read the most recent articles written by <b>Paula Soler and Peder Schaefer<&sol;b> – <a href&equals;”&sol;news&sol;article&sol;frances-nuclear-turn-to-europe-is-welcomed-but-questions-remain”>The EU welcomes France's nuclear turn&comma; but questions remain<&sol;a> <&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;<&sol;p><&sol;div><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine; &NewLine; <&sol;p><div class&equals;”av-tags”><p style&equals;”display&colon; inline&semi;” class&equals;”WPAuto&lowbar;Base&lowbar;Readability-styled”>&NewLine; <&sol;p><p class&equals;”av-tagTitle”>Tags<&sol;p><p style&equals;”display&colon; 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