Military Innovation Strategies for Small Nations

How do countries like Sweden maintain their own fighter jet programs despite their smaller size? By doing as much off the shelf purchasing of components as possible. And you aggressively market upgrade packages, with the caveat that the customer funds some development. Being a small country just means you have small domestic order flow; not that you can’t sell planes. If “Monaco Aviation Company” was selling a super stealth fighter at a competitive price, they’d fly off the assembly line, even if the prince never ordered a single one. The real issue is that the cost to develop a fighter doesn’t change whether you’re big or small, and this quickly gets prohibitive. The F22 cost some $30B to develop. The F35 ran over $40B, although technically they made 3 planes. But the Eurofighter and Rafale were both on the order of $20B too. Why? Because each of those programs included developing a new engine, new radar, new everything. Sweden cannot afford that, so Saab focused on the design and final assembly and licensed what they could. That meant they could get away with something like $2B to evolve the Gripen C/D into the E/F, with the downside being they rely on foreign parts. Most small or new entrants into the military aviation market rely on someone else’s engines because the development cost and time on those is crazy. Saab will sell you a Gallium Nitride radar set for the Gripen, which is generally considered an improvement over the Gallium Arsenide models found in planes like the F35. But no Gripen actually has GaN radars installed. It’s a different mentality of sales; you need to be willing to work with customers on a deeper level because you don’t have as many of them.

𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗢 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼: 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁. Tallinn has halted a planned €500 million purchase of new combat vehicles and is redirecting that money toward air defence, drones, and other unmanned capabilities. That is not symbolism. That is adaptation. 🛡️ Estonia is not saying armored vehicles no longer matter. It is saying the first priority on a battlefield shaped by drones, persistent surveillance, and precision strike is no longer just buying more steel. It is building the ability to survive, see, and fight in a drone-saturated war. 📡 That is the real lesson from Ukraine. Heavy platforms still have a role. But their dominance is no longer automatic. Not when every vehicle can be watched, tracked, and hunted from above. ⚙️ Estonia’s decision matters because it reflects a harder kind of seriousness. Not abstract innovation talk. Not small pilot projects. But a real budgetary shift toward the capabilities that modern war is already rewarding: air defence, unmanned systems, situational awareness, and distributed combat effect. 📦 And this is where the rest of #NATO should pay attention. Adapting to drone warfare is not just about buying a few clever systems. It means depth: stockpiles of components, batteries, repair parts, EW resilience, and training pipelines that make drone use and drone survival part of normal soldiering. 🎯 It also means pushing capability downward. Drone warfare cannot remain a boutique asset controlled only from above. It has to be embedded into tactical formations, close to the fight, where commanders need immediate options to find, fix, and strike in real time. For #Defence, #DroneWar, #AirDefence, and #MilitaryInnovation observers, Estonia’s move is the real strategic signal: the most serious militaries are no longer asking whether the battlefield has changed. They are asking what they are willing to stop buying in order to adapt to it. 𝘐𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘺 — 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨.

My latest commentary looks at what Ukraine’s wartime drone revolution can teach militaries worldwide, including the Singapore Armed Forces. Drones have shifted from niche tools to decisive battlefield assets. In Ukraine, small, agile drone units like the renowned Nemesis Regiment and Magyar’s Birds have fundamentally reshaped tactical engagements, transforming frontline operations into iterations of constant experimentation and adaptation.   Meanwhile, Magyar’s Birds have evolved from a small recon team to a brigade focused on attack drones, signals intelligence, and electronic warfare under commander Robert “Magyar” Brovdi. They have implemented low-cost, high-impact tactics, using fibre-optic FPV drones to both strike and intercept enemy systems.    For these innovative drone units, every mission becomes a tactical experiment generating immediate insights and operational adjustments. Success is tracked via a performance-based “drone league table,” with the best teams getting priority access to supplies. The culture is competitive, data-driven, and ruthlessly effective.   What can the SAF learn from Ukraninian military innovation?   It means going beyond teaching recruits how to fly drones. It requires developing specialised drone units structured more like high-performance startups than traditional line infantry. These units must be empowered to iterate quickly, on hardware, software, and tactics. Think of them as “innovation battalions” with engineers, software developers, and ISR specialists working side-by-side with combat operators.   Such SAF won’t emerge from existing pathways. Instead, it will require a culture of shared experimentation, rapid iteration, and intellectual diversity.     To enable such a culture, three pillars must underpin the SAF’s transformation. First, its leadership must be willing to absorb risk, empowering subordinates to innovate, experiment, and explore unconventional options.    Second, Singapore must build stronger bridges between the SAF, local start-ups, research universities, and global tech firms. The goal is not to outsource innovation but to foster co-creation, where military users shape requirements dynamically and developers adapt in real-time.   Third, Singapore’s defence ecosystem must be willing to invest in high-risk, high-reward technologies and explore their full range of operational pathways... more in the article below. #DefenceInnovation #Drones #Ukraine #MilitaryTechnology #InnovationCulture #SAF #Mindef #DSTA #Singapore #RSIS #AI

Wondering how to integrate commercial technology into the military? Read about the case of Ukraine in my new report. Instead of relying on slow-moving, state-run defense R&D, Ukraine has turned to the commercial sector—startups, civilian engineers, and private companies—to deliver battlefield-ready technology now. This shift has shattered procurement bottlenecks, slashing acquisition timelines from years to months (or even weeks for unmanned systems). Military units can now directly procure what works best for them, rather than waiting for top-down solutions. Key takeaways from the report: ❗️Commercial-first military innovation: Ukraine has moved from a state-controlled R&D model to integrating civilian tech directly into combat operations. ❗️Battlefield-driven procurement: Instead of speculative long-term projects, weapons and tech are now developed based on real-time operational needs. ❗️Rapid acquisition cycles: Testing, approval, and deployment timelines have been cut from years to months, or even weeks in some cases. ❗️Decentralized decision-making: Military units can directly acquire the technology they need, ensuring flexibility and faster adaptation on the front lines. ❗️Competitive advantage through commercial tech: Off-the-shelf solutions reduce development costs and risks while increasing efficiency on the battlefield. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/er5DfN_s The question is: Will Western defense establishments follow suit—or will they cling to outdated models while adversaries adapt faster? #DefenseInnovation #MilitaryTech #Ukraine #AI #UnmannedSystems #ProcurementReform #AcqusitionReform

“How Ukraine Rebuilt Its Military with Innovation and Speed 🚀” ✨ The Big Picture: The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report “How Ukraine Rebuilt Its Military Acquisition System Around Commercial Technology” reveals how Ukraine transformed its defense capabilities by leveraging private-sector innovation, streamlining processes, and focusing on battlefield demands (written by Kateryna Bondar). 🔥 Why It Matters: Facing existential threats, Ukraine’s defense strategy shifted radically, cutting timelines from years to weeks. Here’s how they did it: • Private-Public Synergy: Harnessing commercial and dual-use technologies for rapid battlefield deployment. • BRAVE1 Platform (runs by Nataliia Kushnerska) : A government-supported ecosystem uniting startups, private capital, and defense industries for collaborative innovation. • Streamlined Processes: Adoption and deployment timelines reduced drastically, getting systems into soldiers’ hands faster. 🔑 Key Insights: 1️⃣ Shortened Acquisition Cycles: • Requirements, prototyping, and adoption into service now take weeks, not years. This agility has proven critical for real-time battlefield relevance. 2️⃣ Empowered Ecosystem: • Platforms like Brave1 have fostered unprecedented collaboration between engineers, startups, and the military, driving rapid innovation and iteration. 3️⃣ Off-the-Shelf Deployment: • By focusing on mature technologies, Ukraine bypassed lengthy R&D cycles, deploying cost-effective solutions directly to the frontlines. 🌐 What’s Next? Ukraine’s transformation offers a blueprint for modernizing defense innovation globally. Speed, collaboration, and adaptability aren’t just goals—they’re imperatives. 🔗 Dive Deeper: Check out the full report (attached) and Brave1 platform (google it). 💬 What’s your take? Can this model inspire defense innovation worldwide? Let’s discuss! #DefenseTech #Innovation #DualUse #Ukraine #MilitaryTransformation #NationalSecurity

PORCUPINE TAIWAN - Taiwan’s New Strategy: Make China Fear the Pain of an Invasion - Many military experts say that China isn’t yet ready to overcome the geographical and military obstacles to an invasion. However, recent Chinese exercises simulating a blockade of the island have jolted Taiwan, which worries that the drills could be a precursor to an attack. - A different type of war Taiwan’s goal now is to build layers of coastal defenses to hold off an amphibious invasion. That involves stockpiling new weapons and expanding and training an army that can use them. Taiwan’s navy is establishing a coastal command, a shift from a focus on control of the sea to a focus on fending off attacks. - Using weapons that are cheaper to acquire and faster to deploy will be key to fending off China, said Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy in East Asia at King’s College London. - Taiwan’s approach has been influenced in part by Ukraine’s successes fighting Russia’s invasion. It plans to buy more than 3,200 drones from domestic companies in a five-year period to boost local production—mirroring Kyiv’s homegrown drone makers—in an industry currently dominated by China. The army opened an academy last year to teach soldiers how to operate them. - A recruitment campaign is under way, with ads on buses that run through the heart of Taipei showing three uniformed cadets with the tagline: “Safeguard the homeland, create an extraordinary life.” - The military is looking to upgrade its reserve forces, in particular by improving its ability to quickly mobilize reservists. - Training has been reoriented in line with strategic changes. In the past, conscripts rarely left their bases to train or handled sophisticated weapons. - - - Taiwan is increasingly training soldiers to use drones and more advanced weapons, such as Stinger surface-to-air missiles, in locations where they would be expected to defend the island. - https://lnkd.in/eMQnh2zm

In Ukraine and Israel, low-cost drones have rewritten the playbook of modern warfare. Analogizes to the advantage #startups have vs. #incumbents: The drones aren’t billion-dollar fighter jets. They’re agile, easy to transport, and often assembled for a fraction of the cost of the systems they disrupt. This is asymmetry at work — and it should sound familiar to anyone in the startup world. Startups thrive not by outspending incumbents, but by outmaneuvering them. 👉 Amazon was a bookstore that took on Walmart. 👉 Airbnb scaled hospitality without owning a single hotel. 👉 OpenAI is pushing boundaries that tech giants are now racing to catch up to. Ukraine and Israel are demonstrating that #asymmetrical #innovation — when executed with speed, clarity, and intent — can shift the balance of power, whether in military theaters or market sectors. The lesson? You don’t need to be the biggest to change the game. But you do need to be faster, smarter, and relentlessly resourceful. #strategy #innovation #founderlessons