This article is part of a summer series exploring the future of defense innovation in Sweden. Next up: Beyond Missiles: Why Defense Innovation Is About More Than Weapons
We need defense accelerators to speed up defense innovation in a landscape that changes quickly.
Traditional defense procurement and R&D cycles are often too slow for the pace of today’s threats – cyber, AI-enabled warfare, drone swarms, space-based surveillance, and quantum computing. A challenge is that these technologies evolve in weeks or months, not decades.
Defense accelerators help shorten the gap between emerging ideas and field-ready capabilities. They can help fast-track dual-use technologies and stimulate agile innovation.
Swedish defense accelerators can help keep our tech in the country and strengthen our ability to develop homegrown technologies, systems, and platforms. We do not want our inventions to disappear abroad. Neither do we want to be too dependent on foreign defense industries and critical suppliers. Supply chains are vulnerable.
Local innovation also makes it easier to develop solutions in line with Swedish values, built into the design.
To Increase Collaboration Between Defense, Academia, and Industry
Our tech ecosystem is strong, thanks to top-tier universities, and a tradition of working across sectors. But many actors still work in silos.
Dedicated accelerators are neutral grounds where startups, researchers, the Armed Forces, civil authorities, and major industry players can develop solutions together. Networks unlock synergies. A startup’s AI algorithm, a university’s materials research, and a defense use-case can come together in weeks rather than year and so on.
Contribute in NATO and the EU
Now that Sweden is a NATO member (NATOvärdland) and part of the EU’s defense innovation framework, we both have the opportunity and the obligation to contribute to collective security.
A Swedish defense accelerator enables us to go from being a passive adopter to a proactive innovator.
It allows Sweden to shape the defense technologies of tomorrow and share interoperable solutions with allies.
To Channel the Strength of Sweden’s Startup and Tech Ecosystem
Sweden is already a global hub for innovation, with success stories in fintech, cleantech, medtech, and AI.
A defense accelerator creates a clear entry point for this talent and capability to be applied in national and international security contexts.
It also opens a new market for Swedish startups – the growing global defense-tech sector – while ensuring ethical frameworks guide development from the start.
So, how would it contribute?
How Defense Accelerators Speed Up Innovation
Accelerators, such as AMYNA, are driven by demand. We start with concrete operational problems from the military, civil defense, or national security authorities. Accelerators focus on urgent and real-world challenges. Such focus makes innovation relevant and speeds up the path from problem to prototype.
Ensures Momentum
Accelerator programs (e.g., 3–6 months) are often intense. Selected teams get access to mentoring, resources, and deadlines to rapidly build and test solutions. This time compression is a positive factor.
Milestones, check-ins, and demo days can ensure momentum. What normally takes 2–3 years can be done in 6–9 months in an accelerator context!
Breaks Silos
Startups and civilian researchers often struggle to access defense stakeholders, understand needs, or navigate regulations.
We, business developers, at accelerators can be translators as well as connectors. We can offer secure access to end-users, test environments, procurement channels, and dual-use experts.
A defense accelerator contributes to trust and access and helps actors in different sectors understand each other better.
Reduce Risk in Early-Stage Innovation
Defense organizations are often averse to risk, by necessity.
Accelerators can be a safe space to test new ideas, fail fast, and iterate without risking operational budgets or mission readiness. This makes it easier for defense actors to engage with bold, early-stage solutions.
Testing drone jamming tech in a sandbox is less risky than deploying it in full. But, it is more useful than waiting for a perfect product.
Offers Tailored Support (Funding, Mentorship, Testing)
Accelerators help startups with access to funding, technical experts, legal frameworks, ethical guidance, and live testbeds.
This bundled support that help teams overcome bottlenecks like certification, integration, or interoperability. Thes often delay innovation in defense contexts.
Need to test a radar solution on a real naval vessel? An accelerator can open that door.
Speed Up Procurement
Innovations developed in accelerators can be fed into rapid procurement pipelines, advanced prototyping, or joint development with state agencies. The goal is not just to innovate — but to implement. A defense accelerator often works with entities like FMV (Swedish Defense Materiel Administration), NATO DIANA, or EDA to ensure to transit smoother from lab to field.
A prototype ready for demo with end-user feedback is far more likely to be adopted.
Cultivate Defense Innovation Culture
Accelerators help create a culture where agility, learning, and experimentation within the defense ecosystem are factors.
They can help attract new talent, build trust, and challenge the assumption that innovation must be slow or siloed.
Hopefully, this cultural shift can ripple across the broader Totalförsvar/Total Defense system.
Also, it is not just about accelerating a product, but accelerating a mindset.
Stay tuned this summer as we dig deeper into defense topics.
Previous articles in the series:
Barriers, Bottlenecks, and Bold Moves – This Is Why We Are Building AMYNA
https://ideon.se/blog-posts/why-do-we-need-defense/
