Slovenia Establishes Dovos Amid Europe’s Growing Defense Investments
Slovenia’s state holding company has established a new entity, Dovos, dedicated to advancing national capabilities in defense, security, and resilience.
LJUBLJANA – Slovenia’s state holding company has established a new entity, Dovos, dedicated to advancing national capabilities in defense, security, and resilience. The company, founded in September 2025 by the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH), plans to publish its first public calls to companies for industrialization proposals in these sectors by the end of October.
According to Damir Črnčec, Assistant to the President of SDH and Chairman of Dovos’ Supervisory Board, Europe is entering a decade-long investment cycle in defence — one that will continue even if the war in Ukraine ends.
“This is not a short-term phase. Even if the conflict stops, the demand for stronger defence capacities will remain for many years,” Črnčec said.
Reviving Slovenia’s Defence Capacity
Črnčec acknowledged that Slovenia once had a strong defence industry before 1991, but the sector was later neglected under the assumption that military threats had disappeared.
“We thought there would be no threats. But the world has changed — without security, there is nothing,” he emphasized.
He explained that Dovos was created to bridge Slovenia’s existing technological knowledge with industrial implementation, transforming innovation into production.
“Some think we are rushing into this now. That is not true — in fact, we are already very late,” Črnčec said.
Strategic Goals and European Outlook
The company aims to first deploy its technologies domestically within Slovenia, and then export them to European and NATO markets.
Črnčec highlighted that investments in critical infrastructure and resilience should be seen as strategic priorities, not merely economic expenses.
“The right path is not only pursuing profit, but also strengthening strategic technologies and national resilience,” he added.
Context: Europe’s Defence Shift
The launch of Dovos reflects broader European trends. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU has been rapidly scaling up defense industrial capacity through initiatives such as the European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS) and the SAFE loan program, which supports joint procurement and resilience-building.
Analysts say Slovenia’s move positions it to participate more actively in European supply chains and benefit from EU funding aimed at strengthening collective defense and resilience.
