What it covers
The guide maps the revolution in defence and dual-use innovation across three mature ecosystems: the United States, the United Kingdom and France. It has two parts. The first is a set of 100 ideas in 16 categories, written with a little colour and defiance. The second, main part reviews strategy documents and the institutions and initiatives of each of the three ecosystems.
It covers, among other things, central innovation platforms (the Defense Innovation Unit, the Defence and Security Accelerator, the Agence de l’Innovation de Défense), service-level innovation platforms (SOFWERX, AFWERX), transformation commands (Army Futures Command, Commandement du Combat Futur), experimentation exercises and units, dual-use investment funds, fast procurement routes such as Other Transaction Authority, and foresight work with science-fiction writers in Red Team Défense. The description reflects the situation in August 2025. In July 2025 DASA became part of UK Defence Innovation (UKDI). In October 2025 Army Futures Command was merged into the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command (T2COM).
100 ideas
The 100 ideas are grouped into 16 categories. Idea titles are in Polish in the guide; the categories are:
- The ABC of the defence innovation revolution6 ideas
- Institutional infrastructure for defence innovation7 ideas
- Innovation support programmes10 ideas
- Administration beyond silos8 ideas
- Testing and experimentation5 ideas
- Organisational culture and internal innovation6 ideas
- Industrial policy, support for the defence sector and SMEs9 ideas
- Financing defence innovation and venture capital4 ideas
- A new philosophy of military equipment6 ideas
- Procurement of innovation4 ideas
- Science, education, R&D8 ideas
- Strategic communication and practical handbooks7 ideas
- Foresight2 ideas
- Digital transformation and AI7 ideas
- Practical theory6 ideas
- Asides on the defence innovation revolution5 ideas
Excerpt
Dziś potrzebujemy tego ryzyka. Ryzyka w badaniach. Ryzyka w przedsięwzięciach startupowych. Ryzyka w udzielaniu grantów. Ryzyka w finansowaniu innowacji. Ryzyka w eksperymentowaniu. Ryzyka we wdrażaniu. Ryzyka w interpretacji przepisów. Ryzyka w starciu z biurokracją. Nie ma Polski bez ryzyka.
“Today we need that risk. Risk in research. Risk in start-up ventures. Risk in awarding grants. Risk in financing innovation. Risk in experimentation. Risk in implementation. Risk in interpreting regulations. Risk in confronting bureaucracy. There is no Poland without risk.”
This paragraph is the source of the Institute’s motto, ‘There is no Poland without risk’.
How it was written
The guide was written privately by the author, in his spare time and pro publico bono, without cooperation with any public or private institution and without payment. Its core was the author’s thesis on a concept for the Polish Armed Forces’ innovation ecosystem in the light of best practice in the United States, the United Kingdom and France; work on the whole began at the turn of 2023 and 2024.
The guide is the author’s independent initiative and expresses only his personal views.
How to cite
Struszyński, S. (2025). Przewodnik po rewolucji w innowacjach obronnych Wielkiej Trójki NATO (Stany Zjednoczone, Wielka Brytania, Francja): 100 idei dla liderów transformacji polskiego ekosystemu innowacji dual-use [A guide to the defence innovation revolution of NATO’s Big Three (United States, United Kingdom, France): 100 ideas for leaders transforming Poland’s dual-use innovation ecosystem]. Kraków. ISBN 978-83-977384-0-9.
The guide is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 licence. It may be copied and shared for non-commercial purposes, with credit to the author and without changes.