Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 4, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEuropean defence startups, founded by military veterans, are thriving due to increased defence spending and innovative tech solutions.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -With a rise in defence spending by European countries, many defence technology startups are seeing robust growth, supported by their founders' military experience.
Below is a list of some of these startups in the region:
QUANTUM SYSTEMS
The German drone startup was founded by Florian Seibel, a former officer in the German Armed Forces.
TERMINAL AUTONOMY
Two of the three co-founders of this Ukrainian drone startup are veterans of the U.S. and Australian militaries.
CYBSAFE
British Cybersecurity firm CybSafe, which caters to commercial and defence companies, was founded by former UK Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel Oz Alashe.
ROWDEN TECHNOLOGIES
This UK-based military technology firm was founded by former military veteran Rob Harper.
FRANKENBURG TECHNOLOGIES
This Estonian defence tech company, which makes mass-manufacturable missile systems, has several top executives with military background.
ARX ROBOTICS
The German company, which makes autonomous ground systems, was founded by three former officers of the German Armed Forces, Marc Wietfeld, Maximilian Wied, and Stefan Roebel.
BUNTAR AEROSPACE
The Ukrainian drone maker was co-founded by Ivan Kaunov, who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2022 and served as an infantry private.
ARONDITE
This UK-based defence company was founded by Will Blyth, a former veteran of the British Army.
BLINKTROLL
Norway's BlinkTroll, which produces military training gear, was founded by former Norwegian soldiers Kenneth Skorpen and Oystein Hatlestad.
TRYPILLIAN
The British-Ukrainian defence startup is co-founded by Ivan Matveichenko, a Ukrainian military veteran who participated in the battles for Bakhmut and Soledar.
VIZGARD
An AI software company for defence, it was founded by former British Royal Navy submariner Alex Kehoe.
LABRYS TECHNOLOGIES
The UK-based software company, which counts defence companies as customers, was co-founded by British military veterans August Lersten and Luke Wattam.
ADARGA
This UK-based defence-focused AI firm was founded by former British Army officer Robert Bassett Cross.
ALLIED ADAPTIVE INDUSTRIES
A UK-based defence procurement startup that was founded by John Williams.
NORDIC DEFENCE INNOVATION FOUNDRY
This Finland-based firm, which helps innovators to develop products for the military, was founded by three active Finnish Defence Forces reservists - Joel Noutere, Janne Laukkanen and Oscar Nissin.
CROWN CYBER DEFENCE
The Finnish drone defence company was founded by former military veteran Mattipekka Kronqvist.
GOVRADAR
Germany-based GovRadar, which helps in government and military procurement, was co-founded by Sascha Soyk, who has served in the German army.
GRANTA AUTONOMY
This Lithuania-based drone maker was founded by former military engineers Gediminas Guoba and Laurynas Litvinas.
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Michael Kahn in Prague; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
A defence startup is a new business that focuses on developing innovative technologies and solutions for military and national security applications.
Military experience refers to the skills, knowledge, and training gained through service in the armed forces, often valuable in various professional fields.
Drone technology involves the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for various applications, including surveillance, reconnaissance, and delivery in both civilian and military sectors.
Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.
An AI software company develops applications and systems that utilize artificial intelligence to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as decision-making and problem-solving.
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