Austria
Austrian small arms manufacturer STEYR ARMS GmbH has appointed Petr Šnobl as its new Chief Operating Officer. The company said the move is intended to strengthen operational management and support its ongoing industrial development.
Portugal
Portugal will host the European Defence Agency’s Operational Experimentation Campaign (OPEX) in 2026, focusing on testing emerging defense technologies in realistic operational conditions. The campaign is intended to support EU capability development priorities.
NATO
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called on European states to rapidly increase domestic defense production while continuing large-scale purchases of U.S. weapons systems. He argued that Europe’s industrial capacity cannot yet meet operational demand.
Kosovo
A private Kosovar drone manufacturer has begun producing four distinct unmanned aerial vehicle types domestically, covering small FPV platforms to larger tactical systems.
Czech Republic
Czechoslovak Group (CSG), a major Czech defence manufacturer, has revealed intentions to proceed with a public listing on Euronext Amsterdam, targeting one of Europe’s largest defence sector IPOs in 2026. The offering could potentially raise over €3 billion.
Slovenia
Slovenia assumed the one-year rotating presidency of the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) initiative on 1 January, a platform aimed at reinforcing defence cooperation among Central European states within EU and NATO frameworks.
Germany
German defence software firm Helsing has acquired Barcelona-based robotics startup Keybotic, marking another step in Europe’s effort to build indigenous defence technology capabilities and reduce reliance on external suppliers.
Croatia
France’s Minister Delegate for Europe visited Croatian unmanned systems manufacturer DOK-ING in Zagreb, underscoring growing interest in European industrial capabilities for security, defense, and resilience.
South Africa
A South African father-and-son engineering team has reclaimed the Guinness World Record for the world’s fastest drone using a largely 3D-printed quadcopter design. The platform reached a verified speed of 657 km/h in December 2025.
Serbia
A self-propelled multiple rocket launcher battalion from the Serbian Army Second Land Forces Brigade is conducting training on the M-18 Oganj modular rocket launcher. The program focuses on preparing professional personnel for operational use across a range of tactical scenarios.
Croatia
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is visiting Croatia on January 12 as part of an alliance tour, during which Croatian defence industry capabilities will be reviewed. A domestically built combat vessel by Shadows Nautics will be presented to Rutte and allied representatives.
Germany
Germany has awarded a €119.5 million contract for advanced Puma IFV training simulators to an industrial team led by Rheinmetall. The procurement will deliver nine fully relocatable firing and combat training systems to the Bundeswehr starting in 2027.