The European Union is accelerating efforts to strengthen its defence technology capabilities as it seeks to narrow the innovation gap identified in recent European Defence Agency (EDA) assessments.
A major step in that direction was taken recently after the European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement on the European Commission’s proposed AGILE programme.
AGILE programme, unveiled by the Commission in March 2026, has a budget of 115 million euros and is designed to bridge the gap between research and operational deployment. The programme aims to speed up the development and fielding of cutting-edge defence technologies across Europe and is expected to enter into force on January 1, 2027.
The initiative will provide funding of 1-5 million euros per project, with a strong focus on defence innovation.
European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius underscored the importance of rapid innovation and industrial adaptability in modern warfare. He said AGILE would strengthen Europe’s ability to deliver the capabilities required by member states while reinforcing the long-term resilience of the continent’s defence industrial base.
Supporting defence startups and SMEs
The programme will focus on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), startups and companies developing innovative defence technologies, enabling them to bring new capabilities to market far more quickly than under traditional procurement and development cycles.
According to the European Commission, AGILE will introduce a challenge-driven approach, with technology priorities defined jointly with EU member states. The objective is to reduce the time needed to develop, test and deploy new defence products from years to just weeks or months, allowing European armed forces and partner countries to respond more rapidly to evolving security threats.
The programme will also improve access to testing infrastructure. The political agreement confirms fast-track access to testing and pilot facilities, addressing one of the main obstacles that defence SMEs face in bringing new technologies to market.
Ultimately, AGILE aims to shorten the timeline for delivering new technologies to European armed forces to one to three years, significantly accelerating the transition from innovation to operational capability.
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