Europe is spending more on defense than at any point in recent history. EU defense expenditure is expected to have hit €381 billion in 2025, up 63% from 2020, with investment in future capabilities projected at €130 billion in 2025 – a 75% increase since 2023. Alongside this surge, the Readiness Roadmap 2030 commits member states to reach full operational readiness across air, land, sea, cyber, and space by the end of the decade. Yet three major constraints threaten progress: talent shortages, historic underinvestment, and rising operational complexity.

Code over steel: Why human augmentation is the key to Europe’s defense readiness, the latest report from the Capgemini Research Institute, explores how software-defined technologies can help European forces and industry overcome these challenges by augmenting human capability, accelerating industrial production, and strengthening readiness.

Key findings include:

• Software-defined technology will augment human capability: Europe’s modernization is not just about scale – it requires leaner, more digitalized, more technologically advanced forces. Software-defined systems will be essential for processing vast data volumes and enabling faster, more informed decisions.
  
• Human-machine teaming will shape future deterrence: Nine in 10 armed forces personnel believe human-machine teaming will be key to battlefield advantage in the next decade, with AI acting as a force multiplier across all domains. 82% agree that software-defined technology, not troop numbers, will define future military engagement.
• Cross-European cooperation is critical: Greater collaboration can increase resilience, reduce duplication, strengthen the industrial base, and accelerate innovation and interoperability – yet barriers to information sharing persist, as adoption maturity levels vary across countries.
• Defense industry adoption is lagging: While 65% of executives view AI/machine learning (ML) as critical for ramping up production, only 14% say these technologies are used extensively today.

This report is intended for defense manufacturers, armed forces leaders, and Ministry of Defense officials navigating an increasingly complex defense environment. With insights from 555 active-duty soldiers across eight European countries, and 195 industry executives, it provides a timely view of the technological opportunities and challenges shaping European defense. The report outlines four key strategic recommendations:

• Build a unified digital backbone to enable human augmentation across the defense value chain
• Strengthen cross-national knowledge transfer and build a collaborative development ecosystem
• Establish an integrated, user-centric development approach between armed forces and industry
• Strengthen absorptive capacity through continuous learning.

To discover how software-defined technology can enable human augmentation, accelerate readiness, strengthen deterrence, and shape the future landscape of European defense, download the report today.