BRUSSELS, BELGIUM / EuroWire / – Belgium will invest €3.7 billion in defence innovation from 2026 to 2035 under a new programme called ODIN. Defence Minister Theo Francken announced the plan as the government seeks faster delivery of new military technologies. The programme will support the Belgian armed forces and strengthen the country’s defence industry.
The investment forms part of Belgium’s Defence, Industry and Research Strategy, known as DIRS. The framework links military needs with research, industrial production and technology development. Officials have set ODIN as the main channel for turning selected defence projects into usable capabilities.
Belgium plans to allocate about €350 million a year to research, innovation and industrial production tied to defence needs. The programme covers the period when European governments are expanding military budgets. It also comes as NATO members face pressure to improve readiness and modernise equipment.
Funding targets practical technology
ODIN focuses on areas that include drones, cyber defence, artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, counter-drone systems and military space systems. These fields appear in Belgium’s published defence planning documents. The government has linked them to operational needs and to stronger cooperation with companies and researchers.
The Royal Higher Institute for Defence and the Federal Public Service Economy helped develop the wider DIRS framework from 2022. The strategy aims to build a Belgian defence technological and industrial base. It also sets out cooperation between the military, public bodies, research centres and industry.
Belgium aligns investment with defence needs
Belgian Defence has said innovation spending should exceed 3 percent of the total defence budget. That goal appears in its Strategic Vision 2025. The same document points to testing, experimentation and industrialisation as core parts of the defence innovation process.
The new ODIN plan adds a long-term funding path to that framework. It gives Belgium a defined budget for defence innovation across the next decade. The programme keeps the focus on practical technology, national defence needs and the development of Belgium’s industrial capacity.