The new defence revolution

Military superiority now depends on speed of adaptation, production volume, software and data. The Sopra Steria report decodes the transformation of European defence. 

From new space to new defence

Following New Space, European defence is following the same pattern: rapid innovation, new entrants, private capital and established champions under challenge. Four expert analyses from Sopra Steria.

 

New Defence does not replace European industrial excellence; it redefines it. The report explains why the New Space precedent is a relevant lens, how European manufacturers are scaling up, and why speed and volume are becoming criteria of superiority.
Cost-effectiveness has become a weapon in its own right. The report analyses the logic of saturation seen on the Ukrainian battlefield, the rise of low-cost solutions and what this means for Western military doctrine. 
Software has become a decisive factor of power. The report examines the emergence of software-defined warfare, the demands of multi-domain command and the role of AI, data and digital architectures in modern warfare.
Europe needs more private capital to bring forward its defence tech champions, while protecting its critical technologies. The report examines the surge in investment, the risk of capture by non-European capital and the mechanisms that reconcile innovation with strategic autonomy.
  • ×3
    rise in KNDS's CAESAR gun production rate since the start of the war in Ukraine
  • €12bn
    Helsing's valuation after a €600m funding round (2025)
  • 10-15 years
    typical length of major European procurement cycles, according to Admiral Pierre Vandier
  • ×600
    maximum cost gap between an attack drone and the interceptor used to counter it
“The question is no longer whether the transformation will happen, but which players will be able to evolve at the pace of change.”
According to Admiral Pierre Vandier, major European military procurement cycles often run to 10 to 15 years, whilst battlefield innovations now evolve in weeks or months. Armed forces now win by producing, learning and adapting faster.
Attack drones costing a few thousand or tens of thousands of euros can force the use of interceptors costing several hundred thousand euros. This asymmetry challenges decades of thinking centred on technological sophistication alone.
Helsing, valued at around €12bn after a €600m funding round, symbolises private capital's appetite for defence tech. Europe must attract more of it whilst protecting its critical technologies and industrial autonomy.

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Alain Durand
Alain Durand
Consulting Director & Strategy & Defense Executive - Sopra Steria
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