Commercial startups get a foot in the door with defence investments
In the media image: Mark Tegethoff on Unsplash
NATO countries have raised their defence budgets and startups are keen to supply innovative technologies. Louisa Handel-Mazzetti, PhD candidate at Air and Space Law and affiliated to the Netherlands Defence Academy, says their flexibility and speed make them attractive, but warns of risks.
Worldwide, major investments are being made in defence, partly fuelled by the war in Ukraine. Not only do established companies benefit from this, startups also know how to find their way into the defence domain. They often develop civil and so-called ‘dual use’ technologies that can be used both for commercial and military uses. According to Handel-Mazzetti, using startups allows for faster access to innovation, specialist know-how, and they contribute to better space surveillance. The Netherlands is already working on a small scale together with innovation businesses such as ISISPACE from Delft. Recently the defence state secretary called for extending the collaboration with startups for military innovation more generally.
Nevertheless, the PhD candidate warns of possible risks. Outsourcing military applications to commercial parties can lead to loss of sovereignty and greater liability, while monitoring international law and sustainability remains necessary. Dual-use makes this even more complicated. In addition, this mainly concerns defence-wide applications of new technologies and is less about space exploration. Handel-Mazzetti adds: ‘Start-ups are more daring and move faster than established parties, but that also makes the relationship complex when they become indispensable for the Ministry of Defence. Their technology can unintentionally drag countries into conflicts: What if a satellite is attacked for its military purposes? Then the civilian applications are also affected.’
The discussion gives rise to fundamental questions about regulation, liability and the division of civilian and military use.