Bundeswehr innovation hub: Key to success according to Boris Pistorius

Networking with Companies and Start-ups Boris Pistorius opens Bundeswehr Innovation Center

2026-02-02 Source: dpa 1 min Reading Time

Related Vendor

According to Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius (SPD), there is no way around giving the Bundeswehr a modern innovation forge.

Now the time has come! Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius has opened the Bundeswehr Innovation Center in Erding. It will play a key role in keeping the armed forces at the cutting edge. Drones and AI will also play a major role in this.(Image: Ministry of Defence) — Now the time has come! Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius has opened the Bundeswehr Innovation Center in Erding. It will play a key role in keeping the armed forces at the cutting edge. Drones and AI will also play a major role in this.
(Image: Ministry of Defence)

Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius affirms that the Bundeswehr must become more technically agile thanks to experts and their innovations. Because, according to Pistorius: "Innovation is not a nice to have for the Bundeswehr. It is a key to success!" Pistorius made this statement at the opening of a Bundeswehr innovation center at the Erding site. As an example, he cited drone technology, which changed within just a few weeks in the context of the war in Ukraine. According to him, the new center is only the first step on a new path away from the classic procurement organisation for the German armed forces.

After all, networking with universities, companies and start-ups is relatively easy in the metropolitan region around Munich. According to Pistorius, artificial intelligence (AI) also plays a decisive role when it comes to a possible defence case: "The number of human casualties (in our own ranks) can be kept low if we send in pure technology first," says the Federal Minister of Defence. However, experience of war has always shown that in the end it is not possible without infantry, who clear up the rest on foot, so to speak. Hopefully we will never have to experience whether these considerations are correct.

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.