Innovative Procurement and Collaboration Boost Joint Development Potential

4 December 2025

On December 3, 2025, the Munich Reserve Officers’ Working Group (MAKRO e.V.) organized an engaging panel discussion at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) of Munich and Upper Bavaria on the topic “Innovative Procurement for the Bundeswehr — Navigating the Intersection of Law, Technology, and Operational Reality.” During the event, representatives from the Bundeswehr highlighted the challenges and adjustments that must be addressed and explained how rapid communication between the Bundeswehr, industry, and research institutions can accelerate the pace of development.

The current shift in security policy presents the Bundeswehr with a historic challenge: capabilities must be integrated into the troops more quickly, with greater flexibility, and using the latest technology. Against this backdrop, the topic “Innovative Procurement for the Bundeswehr — Navigating the Intersection of Law, Technology, and Operational Reality” is gaining immense significance and offers ample material for a high-profile panel discussion moderated by Prof. Dr. Rafaela Kraus (UniBw M) with representatives from the Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVg), the Bundeswehr Planning Office, BAAINBw, and the University of the Bundeswehr: Brigadier General Michael Bender (BAAINBw), Lena Burth (Bundeswehr Planning Office), Prof. Dr. Michael Eßig (UniBw M), and Colonel (ret.) Matthias Puschnig (BMVg / Special Task Force Ukraine).

While security-related technologies — from AI to robotics to connected sensors—are evolving at ever-shorter intervals, the traditional procurement system remains complex and time-consuming. This brings the central question into focus: How can legally compliant procurement be combined with the necessary speed and innovative drive? New approaches such as rapid procurement, flexible testing environments, and the increased use of commercial technologies show that a cultural shift has begun. For SMEs, startups, and medium-sized industrial companies, this opens up new avenues into a market that has long been difficult to access.

At the same time, the realities of the field call for robust and practical solutions that are available not in ten years’ time, but in the short term. The close integration of military requirements, technological capabilities, and legal frameworks thus becomes a decisive factor for success. Research institutions and universities provide important impetus in this regard by highlighting new methods, trends, and paths to innovation and developing them in collaboration with industry (large corporations, startups, and SMEs). Consequently, there was significant interest from industry, research, and the armed forces in this groundbreaking exchange. Of particular interest were the opportunities presented for gaining a foothold in the Bundeswehr and its procurement processes.

The discussion on innovative procurement is therefore not merely an administrative or technical issue: it determines how quickly the Bundeswehr will be able to respond to threats in the future and how technologically sovereign Germany will remain. The panelists delivered clear messages, which were discussed further during the networking session that followed:

• Colonel (ret.) Matthias Puschnig (Federal Ministry of Defense/Ukraine Task Force) emphasized the role of lessons learned from Ukraine as a “catalyst”: In the field, it becomes immediately clear who can deliver flexibly and innovatively. Speed in the development and procurement cycle is crucial today — a call to industry, research, and startups to “get started and hit the ground running” now.
• Lena Burth (Bundeswehr Planning Office) encouraged industry — especially smaller companies — to actively reach out to the Planning Office: ideas and pitches are expressly welcome. If the benefits for the troops are evident, doors to the BAAINBw will also open downstream. Challenges are also a way to steer innovation in the right direction and rapidly build on experience.
• Brigadier General Michael Bender (BAAINBw) highlighted the Innovation Center as the future central point of contact: a place where ideas, components, and technologies can be presented in an uncomplicated manner. A “marketplace” that brings together industry, research, universities, and the armed forces, makes trends visible, and builds expertise. It is particularly important, he noted, that troops be able to test new solutions early on—because practical testing leads to genuine innovations and, ultimately, to certifiable products.
• Dr. Michael Eßig (UniBw M) emphasized that procurement law by no means hinders innovation: Cost-effectiveness — not merely the lowest price — must be the deciding factor. Competitive bidding processes can be completed in 35 days if they are structured properly. He called for a shift toward market-oriented procurement that facilitates access and actively considers new suppliers. The security industry is a cross-sectoral industry with a future that lies increasingly in software and system integration — areas for which today’s procurement processes are not yet designed.

Conclusion of the panel discussion: More courage, less hesitation. Innovation must be tested, further developed, and then regulated — not the other way around. In the future, shortcuts and networks such as NKCS, Cyber Alliance, or the Bundeswehr’s Cyber Innovation Hub will be crucial, supported by national and international funding programs (BMBF, dtec.bw, NATO, EU). Creativity, speed, and collaborative work are thus the keys to a modern Bundeswehr capable of innovation.

During the subsequent networking session, participants exchanged several innovative ideas, identified personnel needs, and established contact with FI CODE, which was represented by PD Dr. Corinna Schmitt, who spoke on behalf of both the dual research program at the University of the Bundeswehr (UniBw M) and the NKCS, with a focus on networking, funding advice, access to EU funding, and community building in cybersecurity.

Caption for the photo, from left to right: Prof. Dr. Michaela Kraus (UniBw M), Brigadier General Michael Bender (BAAINBw), Lena Burth (Bundeswehr Planning Office), Prof. Dr. Michael Eßig (UniBw M), and Colonel (Ret.) Matthias Puschnig (BMVg / Special Task Force Ukraine)

Photo: © SeCoSys/Schmitt