How startups are redefining conflict
Conflict, like everything else these days, is now shaped by technology. The old model -- industrial-scale production, multi-decade procurement cycles, and the primacy of sheer manpower -- is fading. In its place something faster, leaner and more precise is emerging. Small teams with energy, ambition and good ideas now do in months what legacy contractors once did in years. In Ukraine, for example, drones built by startups and programmed by engineers barely out of university, are destroying tanks worth millions of dollars. The battlefield is changing. And with it, so is the balance of power.
A modern conflict, then, is not won by the biggest army. It’s won by those who can see first, move first, and strike first. This is the reality that some countries in some regions have been slow to grasp. I am a German citizen with friends in the force who have witnessed this first-hand. Their systems are bureaucratic, their procurement cycles sluggish. In a world where technology evolves in real time, they cannot keep pace. And after decades of peace, they haven’t felt motivated to do so.
After the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine looked beyond traditional suppliers to startups that could create, test and deploy innovations at speed. The whole ecosystem shifted to support the war effort, and this was welcomed by the struggling military. Countries, noticeably the other countries in Europe. shouldn’t wait until they’re struggling to bet on emerging tech. It might happen too late.
AI provides a useful illustration. Intelligence, once gathered by spy planes and reconnaissance teams, is now collected by automated surveillance systems. Drones, cheap and ubiquitous, watch from above, supported by conventional and SAR satellites capturing terabytes of images. AI processes the data, identifies targets, and recommends strikes. In Ukraine, software updates are being pushed to drones mid-conflict, upgrading their capabilities on the fly. Algorithms and code now play a crucial role in any conflict, and the most innovative AI startups are at the heart of that development.
As traditional means of conducting warfare become less important, and drones and electronic warfare become more dominant, the need to protect equipment from novel weapon and detection systems also becomes crucial. Advanced materials play a crucial role here. These materials shield satellites from electromagnetic interference, ensuring that critical military communications cannot be jammed or hacked, and protect them from the harsh conditions of space. They help fighter jets evade detection. The goal is simple: to deceive, disrupt, and defend. Again, it’s the startups and younger businesses that are optimizing the materials creation process and slashing the energy involved that are the ones able to offer the high-quality, lower-cost product that modern militaries badly need. As the need for these advanced materials increases and more innovation happens in weapon and detection systems, the startups innovating materials become more and more important. They’re how we keep equipment safe
Governments are waking up -- some more slowly than others -- to the reality that the most powerful nation does not necessarily win a conflict. A single drone can destroy a convoy. A well-placed electronic warfare tool can neutralize an entire air-defense system; indeed, a powerful EMP could knock out all of the United States’ or Europe’s power overnight. That’s how important advanced materials are. AI-powered jamming can blind an enemy’s satellites. These technologies exist, and they’re accessible but governments need to double down on fostering their development and application in modern militaries.
Although defense budgets are rising across Europe, there’s a missing piece in the puzzle. Bottlenecks and bureaucracy, a preference for international fairness over regional competition and security, and a chronic lack of support for young innovative companies (rather than bloated legacy contractors) means that the money isn’t always flowing in the right direction. Indeed, I myself have emphasized to politicians that there’s a danger here not only of missing out on the technology of the future, but of becoming highly dependent on single suppliers.
The continent must look to the model pioneered by the United States, which entails direct support for innovators and disruptors through DARPA and the DIU, as well as a fast, competitive, centralized procurement process, which makes sure that equipment bought by the military is the very best around. Startups once focused on commercial applications, are pivoting to meet the demand. AI firms that once built software for logistics, let’s say, are now developing battlefield intelligence systems. Robotics companies that once automated warehouses are now automating surveillance and targeting. Space startups that once emphasized emissions monitoring or disaster response are now helping militaries to identify enemy forces and threats.
The military that innovates quickest now holds the greatest advantage in any conflict. This is why Europe must look past the slow-moving giants of the defense industry and turn to the small, the agile, the adaptable, the hungry. A present conflict cannot be fought with the technology of the past. With €800 billion now ring-fenced for defense spending, Europe must choose innovation over bureaucracy. It will have to eventually: necessity will force its hand. But the quicker it does so, the better. Because the side that is quickest to innovate. And the startups, not the legacy defense contractors, are the ones moving fastest.
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Dr. Robert Brüll is the Founder and CEO of FibreCoat, a world leader in advanced materials technology. FibreCoat’s lightweight, high-performance, cost-effective, electrically conductive materials protect against radiation, heat, and electromagnetic interference (EMI), making them crucial for space, defense, automotive, and construction. Robert and the founding team developed their novel fibre-coating process while at the Institute for Textile Technology at RWTH Aachen University. Backed by leading investors such as NewSpace Capital and Goose Capital, FibreCoat is now scaling rapidly to meet demand for the materials enabling the next generation of space, defense, and industrial innovations.