Strategic Autonomy and Supply Chains: Industrial and Financial Dimensions

The digitalization of close combat has redefined supply chains as strategic assets in their own right. Infantry units no longer depend solely on weapons, ammunition, and vehicles, but on networks of sensors, secure radios, batteries, vision devices, and software systems. Most of these derive from civilian and dual-use industries, making operational readiness increasingly tied to the reliability of commercial production. For defence markets, this shift translates into continuous procurement flows rather than episodic platform buys. Investors should recognize that secure and sovereign access to critical components is now an operational necessity, driving governments to privilege companies that can guarantee resilient, localized, and rapidly replenishable supply lines. The industrial advantage lies in firms capable of adapting civilian technologies to military use while ensuring continuity even under stress.