Defence innovation accelerates, but procurement lags behind: - It can be frustrating

Across the Nordic region, defence has become a focal point for new technology development and innovation.

Startups, dual-use companies and established suppliers are positioning themselves for a market shaped by rising defence spending and renewed political urgency.

That momentum, however, risks colliding with a more basic reality: much of the defence procurement in the Nordics is still focused on catching up.

There is considerable innovation, but it is rarely what is being tendered

Thomas Bech Hansen, executive VP at Force Technology

- If you think about Danish defence, it is still working to get up to par with others, says Thomas Bech Hansen, executive vice president at Force Technology.

- It is about levels. Without the basic infrastructure in place, it is difficult to move on to more advanced capabilities.

Force Technology provides testing, validation and engineering services, including support for companies seeking to enter defence supply chains. This places it at the intersection between emerging technologies and operational requirements.

From that position, the organisation sees a gap emerging between the pace of innovation in industry and what defence systems are currently able to absorb.

A system still building its foundation

Despite growing political focus on innovation across the Nordic region, procurement remains centred on established capabilities.

According to Hansen, this is not a contradiction but a matter of sequencing.

- You have to operate in a relatively traditional way to establish the basic infrastructure before moving to newer and more advanced solutions, he says.

In practice, demand is still driven by immediate operational needs, even as new technologies continue to emerge from industry.

The constraint is not primarily a lack of willingness, but the nature of the sector itself.

Defence, like other highly regulated and mission-critical domains, has limited tolerance for failure.

- These are highly regulated and operationally demanding environments. It is difficult to put innovation directly into practice, says Hansen, drawing a parallel with the healthcare sector.

From a broader perspective, this dynamic is not unique to Denmark.

A growing gap for industry

For companies, the result is a widening gap between what is being developed and what is actually being bought.

- It can be frustrating for startups with promising solutions that defence is not yet ready to adopt, says Hansen.

- There is considerable innovation, but it is rarely what is being tendered.

This mismatch is increasingly shaping the Nordic ecosystem. Attention to defence innovation has surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while procurement patterns remain comparatively conservative.

This does not mean innovation is absent. It just tends to occur outside traditional procurement channels.

If you think about Danish defence, it is still working to get up to par with others

Thomas Bech Hansen, executive VP at Force Technology

According to Hansen, new forms of collaboration are emerging, including more experimental setups and closer interaction between industry and defence.

Experiences from Ukraine demonstrate that innovation can be accelerated under operational pressure, forcing closer integration between users and developers.

At the same time, dual-use technologies, particularly those linked to the space sector, are gaining traction. These can develop in civilian markets while gradually finding defence applications.

Taken together, the Nordic defence sector presents a market where innovation is abundant but not always immediately absorbable.