In the face of rapidly evolving threats, accelerating technological cycles, and the need to rebuild certain industrial capabilities, traditional defense development models are reaching their limits. Where major programs once spanned a decade or more, operational needs today require solutions to be delivered within a few years or even months.
It is in this context that “New Defense” is emerging.
Inspired by approaches developed in New Space and the most innovative technology industries, this new paradigm challenges several long-standing principles of the sector. The objective is no longer solely to design ever more advanced systems, but to bring products to market faster, at lower cost, and with the ability to continuously evolve in response to operational feedback and changing threats.
Leading New Defense players therefore prioritize scalable products over fully bespoke developments, short experimentation cycles over rigid sequential processes, and much closer collaboration with clients, end users, and industrial partners.
Working alongside companies at the forefront of this transformation, Avencore has identified four key principles that significantly reduce development timelines while enhancing the relevance of the solutions brought to market.
These principles now form the foundation of a new approach to product development in the defense industry.
1 – Deeply understanding market needs
This is the cornerstone of product strategy definition.
- A comprehensive product offering built around common platforms and standardized, scalable building blocks, continuously updated based on market feedback and operational user input
- Moving away from client-specific requirements toward product datasheets defined based on market expectations and mature, readily available technologies
- Continuous monitoring of the ecosystem (markets, competitors, suppliers, and internal innovation) to anticipate business direction, technological shifts, and product evolution decisions
2 – Reinventing development approaches
Moving beyond the V-cycle and systematically leveraging reuse.
- Systematic use of reusable modules and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions, limiting custom developments to what is strictly necessary
- The first battle in development: delivering a functional V1 as early as possible, followed by short iterative improvement cycles driven by experimentation
- A “good enough” mindset: final performance is achieved through iterative testing and validation, even when initial results deviate acceptably from targets
3 – Rethinking client and supplier relationships
For both clients and suppliers: new types of partnerships and interaction models.
- Clients: engaging in early-stage outreach to identify and secure early adopters and test V1 solutions in real operational environments as soon as possible
- Suppliers: leveraging agile industrial partners, potentially beyond traditional ecosystems, with tailored commercial arrangements (priority access, reserved capacity, pricing structures, etc.)
4 – Building a core team
A dedicated, lean, autonomous, and cross-functional project team.
- A dedicated project cell (shielded from external interference), operating in co-location with a small team of multi-skilled profiles
- Empowering the team to make trade-offs and manage uncertainties autonomously within a clearly defined delegation framework, accelerating decision-making
These principles may seem straightforward, but in reality, they challenge practices that have been deeply embedded for decades. Their adoption is not only a matter of new processes or tools. It requires a genuine cultural and organizational transformation. The entire industrial model, from program governance to collaboration mechanisms, must be rethought.
New Defense is already here. The real differentiator will now be each industrial player’s ability to transform its operating model and to turn these principles into operational reality faster than its competitors.
