Ukraine and NATO look to industry to boost capability plans

Eurosatory, June 17, 2026. NATO last year launched its Rapid Adoption Action Plan (RAAP) as part of its push towards the integration of new technology, but the alliance acknowledges there are challenges to be overcome, according to the organisation’s industry and innovation chief.

The effort to speed up innovation and the introduction of equipment is being driven by successful processes in Ukraine but a leader of this effort has called on other countries to do more to support this activity in Ukraine.

Many of the systems displayed by industry at recent events demonstrate the “adapt and innovate” approach; for example, taking a small, simple uncrewed aerial system (UAS) and adding varied loads and effectors as a quick solution.

Tapping into agile innovation in response to rapidly developing threats is seen as key for NATO, according to Tarja Jaakkola, the alliance’s assistant secretary general – defence industry, innovation and armaments.

Part of this response began in October 2025 when NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte launched a package of counter-UAS (CUAS) measures aimed to address drone threats holistically, from better airspace deconfliction to new procurement pathways.

Jaakkola said the measures also included “the active reflection on our understanding on how NATO should plan and fight and develop, test and understand equipment and support nations to procure promising solutions at scale”.

She added: “The aim is to help nations to adopt capabilities that are based on the new technologies [which] are cutting-edge technologies, but also which don’t compromise on mass.

“This is all interlinked with our RAAP that was endorsed [mid-2025] at the Hague Summit, and this plan aims to accelerate the adoption of emerging destructive technologies and solutions that are based on them.”

The companies with niche or unique solutions may have less than 50 employees, however, and limited facilities beyond engineering, research and development, which presents a challenge for scaling up, according to Jaakkola.

“That is one of the reasons we are now working and negotiating together with nations for what we call ‘innovation scale-up packages’ to support companies that have new solutions to scale up their production,” she said.

“One part of that is to facilitate and matchmake these companies that have the solutions, but not necessarily manufacturing capacity, with those civilian companies actually that have the manufacturing capacity. [These] could potentially, for example, provide manufacturing kind of services to these new companies, or lease their production facilities for the companies.”

Ukrainian industry looks for Western support

Speaking on a panel at the Drone Summit in Riga, Latvia in May, Carl Larson, US Army and International Legion of Ukraine veteran as well as co-founder and executive director of Defense Tech for Ukraine, said that country’s industry could be instrumental in winning the war.

Larson argued that while a recent €90 billion (US$104.53 billion) funding boost was appreciated, it was too small and Ukraine needed weapons as well as diplomatic and financial support.

“I would argue [that the latest funding is] too small step; it’ll keep Ukraine in the war for two years, but it won’t enable them to win,” Larson said.

“I would argue strongly that what would enable them to win is the major economies of Western Europe, that means Germany, UK, France investing in Ukraine’s defence sector.

“I would argue strongly that [this] would be the best investment [to keep] those countries and Ukraine safe and secure. Keeping Ukraine not just in the fight but enabling them to actually win.”

Ukraine government’s Brave1 looks beyond its borders

The Ukraine government is working to support this concept by establishing Brave1, a platform to promote collaboration between stakeholders in the industry and also provide a portal for international partners.

In mid-May, Ukraine and Germany signed a letter of intent to launch Brave Germany, a joint initiative aimed at developing defence technologies and supporting innovative startups to provide grant support to the countries’ early-stage companies engaged in critical areas of defence technology.

On 1 June, the Ukrainian government announced the similar Brave Lithuania, which is designed to strengthen cooperation between the defence innovation ecosystems of Ukraine and Lithuania. It will also help to accelerate the development and deployment of technologies that address the evolving needs of modern warfare.

The programme will focus on supporting Ukrainian and Lithuanian developments in priority areas, including uncrewed systems, electronic warfare solutions, artificial intelligence and C2 systems.

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