Defence Technology and Innovation Strategy (ETID)

The Technology and Innovation Strategy for Defence (ETID 2026) is the instrument that guides all R&D&I policy of the Ministry of Defence. Its purpose is to ensure that, in an environment marked by strategic competition, rapid technological acceleration and the emergence of new threats, Spain possesses Armed Forces equipped with advanced capabilities and supported by a solid, innovative Defence Technological and Industrial Base (BITD) capable of sustaining the country’s strategic autonomy. The ETID is aligned with the National Defence Directive, the Defence Policy Directive, the National Security Strategy and the Defence Industrial Strategy (EID), and reinforces its coherence with national science policy by fully integrating into the Spanish Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (EECTI 2021–2027) and the national R&D&I plans.

The Strategy combines three coordinated and mutually reinforcing vectors of action. First, it establishes a framework for technology prioritisation that directs investment towards those capabilities with the greatest impact on the operational effectiveness and modernisation of the Armed Forces. This approach makes it possible to identify key technologies for future major platforms and weapon systems, address transversal technological challenges, such as artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, electronic warfare, advanced materials, directed energy or quantum technologies, and maintain active surveillance of emerging technologies with disruptive potential. This prioritisation ensures that innovation translates into real capabilities, reducing technological risks and strengthening the competitiveness and autonomy of the BITD.

At the same time, the ETID drives technological cooperation both nationally and internationally. Within Spain, it strengthens coordination with civil R&D&I funding bodies, the Autonomous Communities and innovation ecosystems, ensuring that dual use technologies and the country’s scientific capabilities can be effectively integrated into defence needs. At the European and allied level, it promotes active participation in initiatives such as the European Defence Fund (EDF), the European Defence Agency and new EU industrial instruments, while also enhancing engagement with NATO innovation programmes such as DIANA. This international projection facilitates technological returns, access to shared capabilities and a competitive position for the Spanish defence industry within strategic value chains.

Finally, the Strategy promotes continuous improvement of the processes, instruments and management models that support innovation in the Ministry of Defence. This includes modernising planning, procurement and evaluation procedures; reinforcing the instruments that support both early stage innovation and technological maturation; improving access to testing and experimentation infrastructures; and strengthening interaction with the BITD through technology watch activities, early consultations and stable dialogue mechanisms. The goal is to achieve a more agile, transparent and efficient system, capable of supporting technologies from their initial stages through to operational integration.

Taken together, ETID 2026 provides a coherent and ambitious framework to transform R&D&I investment into effective capabilities for the Armed Forces, enhance the competitiveness of the national technological ecosystem, and strengthen Spain’s strategic and industrial autonomy in the face of future challenges.