The research project The New Normal of European Defense analyses the changing conditions of the European defense industry and defense materiel policy, as well as their impact on the Finnish defense industry and Finland’s military defense. The project is funded by the Scientific Advisory Board for Defence (MATINE).
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the shift in U.S. foreign and security policy are significantly affecting the European defense industry and the defense materiel policies of European countries. Demand for defense equipment and the amount of money in defense markets are growing rapidly. However, there are also concerns about the ability of the European defense industry to respond to the changing operating environment.
Both the EU and NATO are seeking to more actively steer the development of the European defense industry and defense market policy, but their objectives are not always aligned. The actions of individual EU and NATO countries are shaped by their threat perceptions, defense-industrial interests, and defense partnerships, which still differ significantly in some respects. Due to these factors, it remains unclear how profound the ongoing changes in the European defense industry and defense materiel policies of European countries will ultimately be. There is also a need for analysis of what these developments mean for the Finnish defense industry and Finland’s military defense.
The New Normal of European Defense project examines:
- how and to what extent the underlying factors guiding European defense industry and defense materiel policy have changed since 2022
- what kind of role the EU and NATO are aiming for in relation to the European defense industry and defense materiel policy, and what challenges and opportunities are associated with their evolving roles
- how the views on defense materiel policy and industry in key EU and NATO countries for Northern European security and Finland’s military defense (the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and the United States) have changed or are changing
- what impacts all of the above have on the Finnish defense industry and Finland’s military defense
The aim of the project is to strengthen the situational awareness of Finnish stakeholders regarding ongoing changes in the defense industry and defense materiel policy, and to assess their implications from Finland’s perspective. The project will produce several sub-publications, which will be published in FIIA’s publication series.
The research project is led by Leading Researcher Tuomas Iso-Markku, and Programme Director Harri Mikkola also works on the project. The project will be carried out during 2026.
Photo: Marzia Cosenza / EC – Audiovisual Service