How Are Defence Technology Innovations Being Implemented in Latvia and Europe?

At the TechChill startup and technology conference, Deputy State Secretary for Planning at the Latvian Ministry of Defence, Uģis Norītis, stressed that the hardest step is moving from innovation to a product that can actually be used in practice in the industry. In general, the defence sector is not only complicated but innovators face significant barriers to entry. According to Norītis, this is precisely because the “cost” in this industry is so high. In order to take risks, there must be corresponding justification:

“Equipment must function not only in peacetime, but also during crises. We expect innovators to be able to explain how the new solution will work and how it will perform under all kinds of conditions,” he explains.

Therefore, the industry expects innovators to fully understand what they are offering.

“Innovators need to talk with end users extensively,” says Norītis.

The Ministry of Defence focuses on fostering competitiveness and speeding up the delivery of innovations to end users. By developing cooperation with companies and innovators, the ministry offers dedicated support programmes - a grant programme for lower-readiness products and a specialised research and development programme for collaboration with more mature companies. Moreover, businesses can access various support programmes from the European Defence Fund (EDF).

One such initiative is the EU Defence Innovation Scheme (EUDIS). It provides a set of instruments for SMEs, including startups and other non-traditional actors in the defence ecosystem, providing them with broader access to EDF opportunities. The objective of EUDIS is to reduce barriers to entry into the defence sector for smaller businesses and innovators, with a focus on technological readiness and market maturity.

EUDIS supports innovators throughout the entire development cycle, helping them to grow, scale, demonstrate their solutions, and successfully enter the market.

Among Latvian companies, Ascent Lumina has successfully participated in the EUDIS programme. The startup specialises in the development of synthetic RGB and thermal imagery for robust computer vision AI models. Ascent Lumina was selected among the top 20 companies in the EUDIS business accelerator cohort in the spring of 2025.

It is also worth noting that in May last year, the EUDIS defence technology hackathon was held at Riga Technical University.

In a recent development, the European Commission (EC) introduced a new €115 million financial instrument called AGILE, aimed at helping innovative defence technologies to transition more quickly from laboratory development to practical application. This instrument is mainly intended for SMEs, including startups.

Under the aegis of AGILE, 20 - 30 projects will receive support, with funding covering up to 100% of eligible costs. To facilitate rapid innovation deployment, companies will also be able to receive reimbursement for expenses incurred up to three months before the application submission deadline.

With a view to fostering investment in defence capabilities, the European Union has also established the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) instrument, which provides up to €150 billion in loans to member states for financing joint defence projects.

A year ago, the European Commission presented the White Paper on the Future of European Defence, Readiness 2030, whose objective is to strengthen Europe’s defence capabilities by 2030. This plan includes a large-scale package of defence measures, including financial instruments for EU member states to encourage increased investment in the development of defence capabilities.

A roadmap has also been drawn up with clear goals and intermediate milestones in order to achieve the defence readiness outlined in the White Paper by 2030. It identifies capability coalitions formed by EU member states. Together with the Netherlands and Croatia, Latvia leads the capability coalition in the field of drones and counter-drone technologies.

Meanwhile, Latvia has initiated the creation of the Drone Coalition, which it helms together with the United Kingdom. Thanks to this initiative, Latvia has made significant progress in unmanned aerial vehicle production.

Crucially, this initiative has not only strengthened national defence capabilities but has also created new opportunities for local entrepreneurs, research institutions, and the military industry as a whole.

Particularly noteworthy are the achievements of the Latvian drone manufacturing company Origin Robotics, to which the European Commission has allocated €4.5 million in funding from the European Defence Fund. This funding will be used to develop unmanned technology-based targeting capabilities, significantly expanding the use of precision-guided munitions.

The implementation of such capabilities is a European-level innovation and will substantially strengthen the defence capabilities of the Latvian armed forces in the field of unmanned technologies.

At present, continuous cooperation is also taking place with other Latvian defence industry companies operating in the drone manufacturing sector with the objective of delivering combat drones of varying capacities to Ukraine, according to current operational needs and testing requirements.

On May 27, 2026, the Drone Summit will be held in Riga for the second time, bringing together up to 2,000 participants, including political leaders from the international Drone Coalition member states, military experts, scientists, industry representatives, and drone sector leaders from NATO and allied countries.