Defense market challenges mechanical engineers

Why the defense market is becoming relevant for mechanical engineers

Moderator and mi connect editor-in-chief Stefan Weinzierl cited the amounts that are expected to flow into defense spending over the next few years: 105.8 billion euros in 2027 and around 180 billion euros in 2030. In addition, the federal government plans to take on new debt of around 534 billion euros from 2026 to 2030. This makes the defense market an environment that is highly relevant for the mechanical and plant engineering sector.

How mechanical engineers can enter the defense market

But how do companies get into this market? Andreas Langfeld, chief revenue officer at 3D production system manufacturer Stratasys, where the event took place, described the company’s own path. From the very beginning, its technology was adopted by very different industries, such as automotive or dental. Defense accounted for around 10 percent of sales. “If I look at our business pipeline over the next few years, then 50 percent is in the defense sector,” said Langfeld. The company is naturally focusing on particularly lucrative markets with high demand. The CRO advised: Mechanical engineers should determine for themselves whether their offering solves a problem. “Each company has to decide that for itself. But I believe that most mechanical engineering companies have an offering that can also gain a foothold in the defense sector,” said Langfeld.

Why the defense industry is not just another sector

Defense expert Bernd Kögel, a retired colonel with over 30 years of experience as a general staff officer in the German armed forces and managing director of DSEI Germany GmbH (organizer of the defense technology trade fair of the same name), emphasized that the defense industry is not just a sector like any other: “The money is there because it is about defending our country, our free Europe, our values, our freedom. You can basically read about the drama behind this every day in the newspaper.” In its new military strategy, the federal government is, for the first time, clearly naming the threat it expects: that Russia is preparing for a war of aggression against a NATO country.

High entry barriers in the defense business

Although there is strong demand, the entry barriers are high depending on the scenario. As a rule, midsized companies will not supply directly to the Federal Ministry of Defense, but instead support the defense industry itself with production factors, said Kögel. These include components, production systems, or robots. The scale-up that is now needed cannot be handled by the established defense industry alone.

What role VDMA plays in the defense market

As an association, after extensive consideration we decided to address the issue of defense, explained Hartmut Rauen, deputy managing director of the VDMA. For this purpose, the Defense Forum was set up, and more than 400 members are now active in its committees. Only 29 percent of the companies in the defense business are concerned with production technologies. Thirty‑nine percent are involved in the components sector. “This means that the dual‑use share in rolling bearings, hydraulic cylinders, image processing systems or sensors offered by our mechanical engineers also finds its way into defense applications,” stated Rauen.

Entering the defense sector is not a walk in the park

The question of how a mechanical engineering company can actually enter the defense market was also raised by the Götz Group. This family-owned company, which focuses on mechanical engineering, stainless steel trading and 3D solutions, is a system supplier for CNC milling, turning and 3D printing. They chose the path of personal commitment by attending various events and building networks. “Our impression was that the defense sector was not closed off and we received the feedback: Yes, we are looking for new suppliers,” recalled Jonas Geipel, senior key account manager at Götz Maschinenbau. In the search for good partnerships, they faced up to the challenges. “From my point of view, a mechanical engineering company basically has the know-how to represent the technical perspective. However, the defense sector also requires a certain level of organizational maturity, which I see as a very high barrier to entry,” said Geipel.

Compliance and supply chains as obstacles in the defense market

Meeting the demanding, high-quality, and documentation-intensive compliance guidelines is often difficult, because the defense sector comes with a number of special requirements, including legal ones. “You have to scrutinize the process chains, especially the supply chains, and change them if necessary – because of various national borders,” said Geipel. He sees a trend in the defense industry away from small series toward larger series and toward reproducible assemblies.

What companies need to bring to the defense sector

Companies that operate via the supplier chain and deliver to defense manufacturers must also expect that the strict requirements will be passed down the chain, said Andreas Langfeld. However, the effort involved differs greatly depending on whether, for example, a metal casting is relevant to confidentiality or not. The former means that a part is classified as critical and the personnel dealing with it must have the appropriate clearance. “You can’t obtain this clearance by going to TÜV; it is granted to you by the state. And the waiting list is currently quite long, because very many are, of course, trying to get it now,” said Langfeld. It is therefore worthwhile to understand along which path which hurdles are to be expected. For typical dual-use, the entry barriers are generally lower, whereas for displays, computer systems, or AI-based evaluation, the level of criticality is very high.

Iso 9001, audit capability and cybersecurity in the defense market

As minimum standards, ISO 9001, digitalization and audit capability are important, as well as additional certifications and NATO standards. “The company should be structurally capable of delivery, auditable and have stable processes,” said Jonas Geipel. With the help of stakeholders, VDMA has prepared 17 guidelines on market entry, scaling and security issues so that machine builders or other players, for example from electrical engineering, can successfully get involved there, added Hartmut Rauen. Export control, cybersecurity and information protection have an even significantly higher priority here. “Cybersecurity is a very big topic. If something goes wrong there, you get badly burned and trust is gone for a long time,” stated Andreas Langfeld. An experience report also came from the audience: There are no gray areas in the defense sector, audits are much stricter than is usual in other industries. Companies that tend to act more flexibly can quickly lose their way here.

The next
Mechanical Engineering Summit Salon

On June 17, 2026, the MBG Salon will take place at the Siemens device plant in Erlangen. The focus will be on “Next level mechanical engineering – when the industrial metaverse arrives in operations.” The program includes guided tours through the Digital Experience Center and the production plant, a panel discussion with livestream, as well as networking.

Further information and registration: https://salon.maschinenbau-gipfel.de/170626-erlangen/

What opportunities the defense market offers for machine builders

However, from the panelists’ point of view, the initial effort to enter the defense market clearly pays off: Companies do not need to fear that this is just a flash in the pan. “These companies want long-term contractual relationships over decades,” said Langfeld. The “glue” for such long-term partnerships, in Geipel’s view, is quality, honesty and the performance to remain reliably able to deliver even under pressure. These are capabilities that many machine builders inherently possess, the panel agreed.

Kögel calculated that by 2029 there will be at least a tripling of defense spending and that funds will flow disproportionately into investments. In this context, investment funds for the Bundeswehr could even increase by a factor of ten. “Someone has to tap into this market; this ramp-up has to happen. There will be many companies that will enter despite all the hurdles,” said Kögel. In addition, other European countries will also be investing much more heavily in defense.

International opportunities in the defense market

“Here – unlike what is currently normal in business – we will not have the Chinese as strong competitors and we will be able to achieve a high global market share in the coming decades,” Hartmut Rauen was certain. Kögel agreed. Geopolitically, some states such as China, Russia, North Korea and others will be excluded from the market. But something else is also changing right now, the military expert stated: So far, the majority of the special fund created by then chancellor Scholz for already fully developed technologies has gone to the United States. From the special fund, which will continue to be set up annually for several more years, the money is now being directed to the United States much more cautiously – which has to do with the stability, reliability and predictability of the Trump administration. In the business case of the German mechanical and plant engineering sector, other countries such as Canada or Denmark, which are increasingly orienting themselves toward European suppliers, must therefore also be taken into account.