AI, Quantum, and EW: Mapping the New Technological Core of the Defence Economy

Across Europe and the transatlantic alliance, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technologies, and electronic warfare (EW) have become central to defence strategies. NATO Allies have explicitly prioritized these technologies – alongside fields like autonomy, biotechnology, and space – for their transformative impact on security and warfare. NATO’s first Artificial Intelligence Strategy (initially adopted in 2021 and revised in 2024) seeks to accelerate the safe and responsible use of AI within the Alliance. It emphasizes combining AI with other disruptive technologies and improving interoperability of AI systems across NATO forces. Similarly, in January 2024 NATO released its first Quantum Technologies Strategy to ensure the Alliance becomes “quantum-ready”. This strategy outlines defence applications of quantum innovation – from quantum-enhanced sensing and imaging to ultra-precise navigation, submarine detection, and secure communications via quantum-resistant cryptography. Both NATO strategies stress close cooperation with industry and academia: NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator (DIANA) and the new NATO Innovation Fund are mechanisms to expand NATO’s innovation ecosystem by engaging startups and labs working on cutting-edge solutions. The NATO Innovation Fund, launched in 2023 as the world’s first multi-sovereign venture capital fund, will invest €1 billion in early-stage deep-tech startups across 23 participating Allied nations (soon 24 with Sweden) to harness commercial innovation for Alliance security needs. In short, NATO’s political guidance – including its 2022 Strategic Concept – places advanced technologies at the heart of collective defence modernization, backing these priorities with institutional support (DIANA) and funding initiatives (the Innovation Fund).