Netherlands sets up defence institute to speed up military technology

The Netherlands is setting up a new defence technology institute to speed up innovation with companies and research organisations, with its first task focused on protecting infrastructure beneath the North Sea.

State secretary for defence Derk Boswijk announced the assignment on Thursday. The institute, the National Institute for Defence Technology (NIDT), is intended to help the armed forces develop technology faster, increase production and scale up more quickly, while reducing dependence on foreign suppliers.

The first project concerns the protection of undersea cables and pipelines. The Dutch government says Russian activity poses a threat to this infrastructure, though the report announcing the institute gives no further detail about the nature of that threat or the measures planned.

Boswijk told parliament that the war in Ukraine showed why rapid innovation matters. He pointed to the fast development of drones and counter-drone software, saying sovereign technological innovation was “not a nice to have, but a matter of life and death”.

The defence ministry describes the institute as a bridge between the military and industry. Similar innovation bodies already operate in the United States, France, Germany and Canada.