MilTech Sandbox - an upcoming platform to enable collaboration between Armed Forces and innovative defense companies

?? Back on home turf – transitioning from supporting Uzbekistan's public institutions to boost agricultural innovation to aiding Lithuania in shaping impactful support for our defense and security innovation ecosystem.

The conflict in Ukraine underscores a pressing reality: military tech can rapidly become obsolete. For instance, Russian forces have swiftly adapted, countering GPS-guided weapons and necessitating updates for drones every 6-12 weeks. In response, the U.S. Army’s “transforming in contact” initiative has created innovation hubs within select brigades, fostering a streamlined approach to deploy, test, and refine technology in real-time. This adaptive model replaces “gold-plated” specs with agile, modular systems, like swappable sensor platforms, reducing production timelines and making solutions battle-ready sooner.

Lithuania’s Inovacij? agentūra and the Ministry of Economy and Innovation is now exploring avenues to balance private R&D and commercial interests with the ever-evolving demands of national defense. Enter MilTech Sandbox – a collaborative platform for the defense sector. Envisioned as a hybrid environment, it is envisioned to offer ecosystem participants streamlined access to the technological equipment, resources, and infrastructure crucial for developing, testing, and demonstrating new defense-oriented and dual-use products.

Key components needed for MilTech Sandbox’s success:

• Establishing an effective collaboration structure with the Lithuanian Armed Forces to streamline feedback and improve communication of their needs.
• Inventorying accessible R&D infrastructure to foster testing and prototyping partnerships with local and international players. Our market analysis highlights robust support from universities and innovation centers and mature defense industry players with established product development cycles.
• Investing in specialized, high-potential testing and prototyping infrastructure—not yet available locally—will support local companies and put Lithuania more visibly on the map as a collaborative location for MilTech innovations.

Two weeks ago, our team ( Just? Pa?kauskait? , Dominykas Milasius , Sander van der Molen , Ignas Rep?ys and Vytautas Narbutas ) shared the initial vision for MilTech Sandbox with key stakeholders. The early feedback from the ecosystem emphasized:

• Smooth communication with the Armed Forces is essential for the successful development of dual-use or military products in early development stages (up to TRL 6).
• The need for a centralized point of contact to guide companies through infrastructure and partnership opportunities within Lithuania.
• High demand for a dedicated prototyping center, whether an advanced manufacturing workshop with Category A weapon licenses, a climate resistance lab, or other specialized testing environments.

There's overwhelming support for state-led policy intervention to move this forward. However, detailed work remains: Which infrastructure investments will yield the highest returns? How should we structure administrative processes and staffing so MilTech Sandbox evolves from concept to operational success?

We're committed to moving this initiative forward in the coming months. Despite recent political shifts, all major parties recognize defense and security as a strategic priority. So, stay tuned!

In the meantime, if you have insights into critical infrastructure needs for defense-focused enterprises or successful models of military-industry collaboration from your country, let’s connect.