Europe must rethink defence funding if it wants to boost innovation
Europe must learn from the transformation of the biotech sector in 1980s and 1990s if it wants to be autonomous.
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Jean-François Morizur, CEO of Cailabs, argues in The Banker that Europe must rethink defence funding to foster innovation and autonomy:
‘Europe must loosen its grip on established habits and build an ecosystem where innovation can thrive, not by displacing long-term defence contractors, but by opening space for smaller firms to be created, funded, tested and, when necessary, discarded.
As in biotech two decades ago, the challenge is to create conditions for variety, agility and ruthless selection — a system that mimics the creative-destructive churn of biological life. … In the 1980s and 1990s, the large pharmaceutical companies did almost all their R&D in-house. But Big Pharma soon learned that it was in fact much more efficient to acquire the promising drugs that were developed externally by smaller companies. The approach worked because VC funds had helped to build an ecosystem: they invested in a large number of biotech start-ups in the knowledge that, although some would fail, the winners could be transformative and would more than compensate for the losses. We need to see this in defence.’
In the Guardian, Jasper Jolly writes that, according to ESA chief Josef Aschabacher, investing in space is vital for sustaining quality of life in a ‘volatile geopolitical’ landscape:
‘Donald Trump’s return to the White House has prompted a shift away from ties with America by European political leaders and a rapid increase in defence spending as the continent’s security reaches a “turning point”. The ripples from Europe’s newfound desire for self-reliance could go even further: as far as space.
Europe’s drive for more autonomy means it must also increase its invesment in space technology, according to Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency (Esa), the intergovernmental body tasked with overseeing the space exploration ambitions of European countries including much of the EU and the UK.
“There are many domains that are seen in space as the ones where Europe will want to increase its autonomy, and it is crystal clear in a more volatile geopolitical situation the need for more autonomy is there,” Aschbacher said in an interview with the Guardian in London. “The situation is changing drastically.”’
Writing for National Interest, Maya Carlin reports that Republicans want $150 billion for Donald Trump’s Golden Dome:
‘Nearly half of the proposed budget incorporated defense-related spending objectives, including roughly $25 million of funding to begin President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” project.
“This legislation is a historic investment of $150 billion to restore America’s military capabilities and strengthen our national defense,” said HASC Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala. “America’s deterrence is failing and without a generational investment in our national defense, we will lose the ability to defeat our adversaries. With this bill, we have the opportunity to get back on track and restore our national security and global leadership.”
The bill also includes funding for space systems, emerging technologies, cyber capabilities, and shipbuilding.’
Laura Varley writes in Silicon Republic that Amazon has launched its first round of Kuiper internet satellites:
‘Amazon successfully deployed its first batch of Kuiper satellites on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The launch, which took off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, had 27 satellites aboard and flew to an altitude of roughly 450km above the Earth’s atmosphere. The satellites then make their own way to an operational altitude of 630km.
The Kuiper project was established to rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink programme and to bring inexpensive, high-speed internet connections to unserved and underserved locations globally.
In a statement Amazon said, “Our first-generation satellite system will include more than 3,200 advanced low Earth orbit satellites and we’ve secured more than 80 launches to deploy that initial constellation, with each one adding dozens of satellites to the network. The KA-01 mission is just the first step in that process.”’
For Space.com, Brett Tingley writes that US Space Force now has a framework for fighting a war in space:
‘For years, Space Force has been training units to conduct orbital warfare, calling upon American industries to develop new spacecraft and weaponry as well as creating international partnerships to maintain peaceful norms in space. Now, the United States' newest military branch has an official "Space Warfighting" framework that outlines how Space Force leadership can train and prepare units for a war in space.
The document "establishes a common lexicon for counterspace operations" and lays out a "range of responsible offensive and defensive actions Guardians may employ to maintain control of space" and ensure the success of the U.S. military, according to a Space Force statement accompanying its release.
The Space Force's warfighting framework describes both offensive and defensive operations and largely focuses on space superiority, which "may involve seeking out and destroying an enemy's spacecraft", the document notes. Space superiority, like air superiority, broadly defines a military's ability to project military power in space in order to protect its satellites or other assets in orbit, or to use that power to deny an adversary the use of their own spacecraft.’
In Calibre Defence, Dr. Robert Brüll, CEO of FibreCoat, explains why high-performance materials and advanced sciences are vital to the West’s defence:
‘High performance fibres are a critical component for modern life. You are probably familiar with fibre optic cables or carbon fibres. Fibre optic cables are used for high speed internet because of their unique properties. They are produced by melting glass and stretching it, before coating it and then winding it onto a spool. The resultant product is used to transmit data as pulses of light, as opposed to the electrical signals used to send data via the traditional copper wire infrastructure used for internet connections before fibre optics. Light has a higher frequency and so can carry more data. …
“High performance materials are so valuable, they can shield a vehicle or component from electromagnetic energy, or act as an insulator material for a spacecraft,” Robert explained on a call in April 2025. “Chaff is just one example of what our fibres can do. They can also be used in drones, where the fibres are built into a composite and combined with a plastic. If a drone is only made of plastic, then an EMP can shoot a drone down, but with FibreCoat products built in, the radiation is reflected. We have found similar applications in space, but with a different type of radiation.”’