The goal is to achieve a production capacity of over 100,000 systems per year

As part of XPONENTIAL Europe 2026 in Düsseldorf, leading representatives of the drone industry gathered for a roundtable discussion aimed at strengthening industrial production capacities. The meeting was hosted and sponsored by Rear Admiral Christian Bock, head of the Bundeswehr Innovation Center in Erding. At the conclusion of the meeting, a joint memorandum of understanding was signed to collaborate on the framework conditions necessary to achieve the target of producing more than 100,000 units per year of drones and drone defense systems by 2027.

At the invitation of Rear Admiral Christian Bock, representatives from 25 companies gathered in Düsseldorf, representing key segments of the value chain in the European drone and drone defense industry. Despite the current difficult economic situation, the drone industry is showing strong momentum. The sector is experiencing growing activity, stable demand, and high innovation potential. In many areas, drones are becoming an important tool for security, infrastructure, the economy, and public services.

Against this backdrop, participants discussed key challenges at the operational level regarding the establishment and expansion of scalable production capacities in Europe. The focus was on the question of what framework conditions must be created to enable companies to significantly expand their manufacturing while simultaneously securing technological sovereignty. This was discussed with a shared target of production capacities for drones and drone defense systems of more than 100,000 units per year by 2027.

A key focus of the discussions was on strengthening European supply chains while reducing dependencies on international suppliers and increasing the industry’s resilience. Secure active components—such as processors, power electronics, antennas, and transmission technology, as well as sensors like cameras—play a particularly important role in this context. They are a central prerequisite for trustworthy and robust drone systems.

Following this, the participating companies signed a joint memorandum of understanding to collaborate on defining the framework conditions for achieving the common target.

The European industry association UAV DACH will coordinate the companies and prepare a coordinated report on the necessary measures. This report is intended to outline the steps required to achieve the production targets and the policy framework conditions needed to do so. The results will be submitted to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Ministry of Defense by January 2027.

It is already becoming clear that reliable procurement decisions play a central role. Clear and predictable orders are considered a key driver for building and securing industrial capacity in the long term.