Need for speed. This is what NATO’s Rapid Adoption Action Plan (RAAP) highlights, reflecting experiences on recent battlefields. To accelerate the adoption of new technology, the plan marks the beginning of an era of “New Defence” also at the NATO level. The era brings together civilian companies developing dual-use applications and established defence industrial companies. VTT monitors the change by leveraging its extensive technological expertise as well as NATO’s DIANA accelerator and test centers.
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- Recognising the agility of civilian technology sectors, NATO's New Defence mainstreams these innovations while maintaining the importance of established defence companies for market routes and expertise.
- RAAP introduces mechanisms like NATO Innovation Ranges and Front Door for Industry, aiming to strengthen the startup base and streamline communication and innovation integration within NATO.
- Finland and VTT play crucial roles in New Defence, hosting a NATO Innovation Range and supporting technological advancements through VTT's expertise and comprehensive infrastructure to meet military requirements.
This summary is written by AI and checked by a human.
Approved last June, RAAP brings a significant change to the speed of integrating new technologies into allied armed forces. Traditionally, defence procurement cycles often stretch over at least a decade. Now, RAAP aims to compress the timeframe for technology integration to just 24 months.
Why is this acceleration deemed crucial, and what are the roles of New Defence, Finland, and VTT?
Rapid innovation happens in civilian technology sectors
To maintain its leading position in the defence technology race, NATO can’t adhere to a rigid top-down approach in developing capabilities, which has been the long-standing standard. Established practices are too slow to adapt to the evolution of modern warfare. Pace and agility are crucial to strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture.
Now, NATO acknowledges that rapid innovation happens in civilian technology sectors. It has become clear that the Alliance needs to harness civilian technology, resources, industrial capacity, practices and funding. Therefore, New Defence becomes mainstream.
RAAP focuses on easing the integration of civilian start-ups and other companies in capability development. Increasingly, these non-traditional suppliers are conquering the forefront of developing defence and security technologies, typically through dual-use applications. They introduce new approaches, such as agile development processes based on experimentation.
While companies from the civilian world are important for the transformation, established defence industrial companies remain vital. In most cases, they provide the actual route to market to new players. Without their expertise, experience, and close relations with national defence organisations, civilian companies can’t determine the requirements in the defence sector and how their technology can be utilised.
A framework to diversify the defence supplier offering
NATO’s Rapid Adoption Action Plan also provides a framework to strengthen and broaden the startup base in New Defence, thereby diversifying the supplier offering for defence across the Alliance. According to the plan, Allies commit to accelerating and facilitating the fielding of dual-use technologies and to increasing funding for innovation.
The plan's mechanisms create an unprecedented ecosystem for defence innovation:
- The establishment of NATO Innovation Ranges provides dedicated testing environments where promising products can be rigorously evaluated under real-world conditions.
- The new NATO Innovation Badges will serve as quality markers for tested technologies.
- NATO Task Force X’s will integrate mature products directly into Allied force structures.
- Perhaps most importantly, NATO Front Door for Industry creates a direct communication channel between the Alliance and the innovation community. Its purpose is to ensure that the demand generated by NATO's Defence Planning Process reaches the right developers at the right time.
Finland and VTT at the forefront of New Defence
Without exaggeration, Finland is emerging as a pioneer in the era of New Defence. The country has a strong defence mindset, mandatory military service and a total defence approach that spans the entire society. Finland is a heavyweight tech champion in, e.g., next generation communications, AI, cyber, space and quantum technologies.
Finland has already announced its commitment to NATO’s goal of accelerating the adoption and integration of dual-use technologies. In June, Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen signed a letter of intent to host a NATO Innovation Range in Finland. This concrete step focuses on the development and testing of next generation communications technologies.
VTT’s technological expertise reflects Finland’s strengths. As the operator of Finland’s NATO DIANA Next Generation Communication Accelerator and a key player in two national test centres, VTT brings technological depth to the New Defence ecosystem. We support and guide companies in technology development and offer the services they need to enter NATO’s defence markets. Our comprehensive Test, Evaluation, Validation, and Verification (TEVV) infrastructure is enabling New Defence companies to demonstrate that their technologies meet strict military requirements.
Moreover, we are fostering cross-sector partnerships that drive breakthrough innovations through our active participation in the Digital Defence Ecosystem, the premier collaboration forum connecting New and Established Defence companies with academia.
RAAP is driving New Defence thinking into full speed. It will renew and revitalise innovation within NATO and the defence industry, which should now, more than ever, strengthen cooperation with civilian companies.
