Sovereign Compute for European Defence
Cloud, edge infrastructure and AI compute as the new control layer of strategic autonomy
Europe’s defence autonomy can no longer be assessed only through platforms, budgets, procurement cycles and industrial capacity. Modern military power increasingly depends on the computational layer through which operational data, AI models, command systems, logistics networks, simulation environments and edge applications are stored, trained, processed and deployed. This creates a structural problem for European defence: a continent can fund new capabilities and expand defence production, yet remain dependent if the cloud, compute and edge infrastructure beneath those capabilities is governed by non-European legal regimes, non-European operational control, non-European hardware supply chains or architectures that cannot handle classified and crisis-resilient workloads.
This report analyses sovereign cloud, defence-grade edge computing and sovereign AI compute infrastructure as a distinct defence-industrial domain. It first defines the computational layer of European defence autonomy, then examines the EU and NATO regulatory, procurement and classified-information frameworks that shape cloud and edge architectures. It then assesses GAIA-X, EuroStack, EuroHPC, AI Factories, European sovereign cloud providers and US hyperscaler sovereignty models, before translating the findings into implications for defence primes, cloud providers, investors, banks, law firms and policymakers. The report distinguishes law in force, policy proposals, procurement practice, company claims and analytical inference throughout.