Why military aviation must embrace commercial innovation to overcome today's challenges

The defense aerospace sector is experiencing its most significant growth period since the 1980s. 

The European Union spent around €380 billion on defense spending in 2025, whilst global military budgets continue to expand. But due to production bottlenecks and substantial talent shortages, the traditional military aviation development model is struggling to keep up with rising demand. What’s clear to both global politicians and industry experts is that commercial speed and innovation are integral to overcoming these challenges.

Talent gaps and impractical timelines

The defense industry's talent crisis has become a huge problem. Trusted engineers are retiring faster than new talent can be hired and trained to the required standard. This skills gap, combined with development cycles that can last more than a decade, means military platforms often use technology that's already obsolete. Meanwhile, the commercial aviation sector operates at a far quicker pace.

Commercial development cycles aren’t measured in years, but months. The talent pool is wider and more diverse. Production efficiencies are considerably higher. And importantly, commercial platforms have the advantage of continuous innovation driven by competitive market forces.

This disparity hasn't gone unnoticed at politics’ highest level. Towards the end of last year, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced his Transforming the Warfighting Acquisition System reform, establishing "speed to capability" as the guiding principle for Pentagon procurement. The strategy represents a fundamental shift away from slower, traditional acquisition cycles towards faster development. Crucially, it emphasizes greater use of commercial practices, rapid prototyping, modularity and incremental delivery.

The U.S. Government’s vision recognizes that military aviation can no longer afford to operate in isolation from commercial innovation.

Meeting high demand: the proven value of commercial offerings

Hegseth’s strategy isn’t about compromising safety or quality, but rather reducing unnecessary red tape to accelerate production and meet growing demand. Commercial aviation experts have shown that their products are suitable for defense aviation, and military specialists are pleased with the speed of delivery.

OEM-certified cockpit displays, surveillance systems and flight data recorders built initially for commercial use are rapidly adapted for military applications in just 6-8 weeks, far quicker than the 12+ months traditional military development cycle.

And the benefits extend far beyond speed. These commercial systems deliver more affordable and improved situational awareness and mission effectiveness. They provide critical intelligence capabilities that would simply be too expensive to develop from scratch using traditional military procurement methods.

Training systems: exemplifying the hybrid commercial-military approach

Training systems is one area where the commercial-military crossover is delivering strong results. Modern military pilot training increasingly integrates commercial gaming engines, virtual reality and machine learning technologies. Initially developed for the commercial market, these tools create more immersive and cost-effective training environments than traditional military-only solutions could achieve.

The result is a new generation of training systems that prepare pilots more effectively whilst reducing training time and costs. It's commercial speed meeting military reliability.

A geopolitical necessity

European countries cannot afford the luxury of decade-long development programs against a backdrop of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and widespread security threats. American forces, despite large budgets, recognize that speed and agility are pivotal to long-term military strength.

Nations across the globe need solutions that deliver better capabilities, faster development and more affordable lifecycle costs. It’s now clear to both defense organisations and political figures that military aviation can embrace commercial speed without compromising on safety or capability.

The future of commercial-military collaboration

Strengthened collaboration between the commercial and defense aviation markets is breaking down traditional barriers. The willingness of commercial experts to share knowledge and innovation, coupled with the willingness of military specialists to leverage commercial offerings, will only continue to benefit defense aviation. This proven relationship will considerably ease the speed, talent and budget burdens faced by military aviation.

The defense aerospace boom presents an unprecedented opportunity. But realizing that opportunity requires a fundamental rethinking of how military aviation develops, procures and deploys new capabilities. Those who hold on to outdated models risk being left behind. But those who embrace commercial innovation will gain a decisive advantage.