Detlev Karg

Britain has opened the door to German participation in the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), offering Berlin a potential alternative following the collapse of the Franco-German FCAS fighter project.

Germany is stepping up support for the large-scale production of interceptor drones in Ukraine as Kyiv seeks cheaper and more numerous weapons to counter increasingly sophisticated Russian drone attacks.

Airbus Defence and Space has completed the acquisition of French cybersecurity specialist Quarkslab, further expanding a European cyber defence business that now stretches across five countries. 

Construction has started on a new Leopard 2A8 assembly and maintenance facility in Kaunas, Lithuania, marking another step in the expansion of European defence industrial capacity closer to NATO’s eastern flank.

The European Union has approved its first five European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDPCIs), targeting critical military capabilities ranging from drones and missile defence to maritime security and space infrastructure. 

Europe’s defence industry is being asked to achieve within a few years what it was hardly designed to do after decades of limited demand: produce far more weapons and ammunition, bring new technologies into service faster and reduce dependencies at the same time. 

Efforts to build rare-earth supply chains outside China are beginning to take shape, with a planned processing facility in Kazakhstan set to supply heavy rare-earth materials to a new refinery in France. 

A growing number of companies that have previously operated exclusively or predominantly in civilian markets are turning to military applications. The expansion of production capacity is also playing a role. This was evident at this year’s Storytelling Days in Nierstein on the Rhine.

German space company Isar Aerospace has successfully sent its Spectrum rocket into space on its second test flight, marking an important step towards independent European access to orbit. 

US defence company Covenant Industries plans to manufacture cruise missiles near Leipzig in eastern Germany from 2027, according to media reports. The planned weapon, known as Anthem, is expected to have a range of more than 1,500 kilometres.

The U.S. Army plans to deploy nuclear microreactors at five military bases as part of efforts to secure reliable power supplies independent of the commercial electricity grid.

US President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum aimed at dramatically increasing the number of commercial space launches and re-entries in the United States. The White House is targeting at least 1,000 annually by 2030, compared with 178 launches last year—already ten times the 2013 figure.

US-based Saildrone announced the expansion oft its manufacturing footprint in Europe, signing agreements to produce unmanned surface vessels (USVs) in the Netherlands, Norway and Poland. The move comes amid growing European demand for autonomous systems for maritime surveillance and defence.

Given the large number of satellite systems planned for both civilian and military applications at European and national level, Europe could face a bottleneck in available launch capacity within just a few years.

Germany's Federal Cartel Office has approved the planned acquisition of military vehicle manufacturer FFG by Cologne-based engine maker Deutz, as several Media report. 

Darmstadt (Germany)-based start-up HCP Sense has developed a technology designed to detect wear in bearings at an early stage, helping to prevent failures before they occur.

Investment in security-related infrastructure across Europe could create up to 4.4 million jobs over the next decade, according to a study by EY-Parthenon and German Dekabank. 

Germany's struggling industrial sector could benefit from the growing market for dual-use technologies, which have both civilian and military applications, according to a new study by swiss consultancy Prognos.

Ukraine's Fire Point and German sensor specialist Hensoldt partner to accelerate the development of a European ballistic missile defence system, as Reuters reports. Fire Point still needs European partners for a data uplink and command-and-control centre

Following the collapse of the planned Franco-German next-generation fighter jet programme, defence contractor Rheinmetall fears France could also withdraw from the joint Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) tank project.

Between rearmament, strategic autonomy and growing global competition, Europe is rebuilding its defence industrial base. But can production capacity, skilled labour and technological innovation keep pace with rising demand?

At the opening of ILA Berlin 2026, Germany and France announced that they will no longer pursue the development of a joint next-generation combat aircraft under the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme. 

Rheinmetall is exiting its struggling automotive business to focus entirely on defence, agreeing to sell its civilian Power Systems division to private equity firm Aequita for a preliminary purchase price of €350 million.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that global efforts to reduce dependence on Chinese rare earth supplies are progressing far more slowly than anticipated.

Airbus Defence chief Michael Schöllhorn has ruled out a complete collapse of the troubled Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme. The project remains strategically important for Airbus, said Schöllhorn, who also serves as President of the German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI).

Germany’s defence industry is expanding rapidly. Multi-billion-euro contracts, new production lines and a political reappraisal of the sector are driving growth. But is there enough personnel to sustain it? Probably yes, says Hubertus Bardt, Managing Director of the German Economic Institute (IW) Cologne.

The German government is acquiring a 40 per cent stake in KNDS, the defence group that produces, among other systems, the Leopard 2 tank. The German state would receive “the same rights within the company as the French state”.

The Bundeswehr has launched a major restructuring of its procurement agency, the BAAINBw. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius briefed the Bundestag’s defence committee on the planned reorganisation.

Germany’s “Zeitenwende” is reshaping not only the country’s security and defence policy, but also its labour market. Rising defence spending and expanding production are intensifying competition for skilled workers across the sector.

The Volkswagen plant in Osnabrück could in future potentially be converted to the production of military vehicles. German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche reports that a takeover of the plant by the Israeli defence company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems was moving closer. The Israelis are said to be planning to manufacture carrier vehicles for the Iron Dome air defence system there as part of Europe’s wider air defence architecture, the magazine reported.