It all started with Jean Curtius. Born in Liège in the late 16th century, he was the chief commissioner for ordnance under Archdukes Albert and Isabella, the Hapsburg governors of the southern Netherlands. He marks the beginning of an uninterrupted tradition in Wallonia, which is actively involved in the defence sector: manufacturing, innovating and exporting, with the ambition of shaping the future of European defence.
“Wallonia did not wait for today’s conflicts to get involved in defence. We have a long tradition of innovation,” says the Wallonia Export & Investment Agency Defence work group.
The ecosystem is dense: 200 companies, 3 billion euros in turnover, 9,000 jobs in value chains, and 67% of Belgian defence exports. FN BROWNING GROUP, John Cockerill, SAFRAN AERO BOOSTERS and Sonaca rub shoulders with a network of highly specialised SMEs. “Some technology has yet to be completed or bolstered, relating to areas such as cybersecurity, space defence, and drones.”
The dynamic is driven by political will at several levels. In Wallonia, defence is one of the five strategic innovation areas (Domaine d’Innovation Stratégique, DIS), under the title “Protect”. In June 2026, a Walloon Defence Task Force validated the IN4DEF strategy for 2030, and administrative simplification of export licences is underway. Wallonia Export & Investment Agency will roll out 23 defence-related initiatives in 2027.
Wallonia also has solid structural assets: universities that include defence in their academic programmes, and dedicated research centres. The Liège-based business accelerator IGNITY completes the mix: as the only global player to be a partner of the DIANA, EUDIS and MAJOR programmes, it acts as a concrete gateway to the defence sector at the European level. Wallonia’s geographical location includes the headquarters for NATO and the European Defence Agency in Brussels, Cyber Valley in the province of Luxembourg, and NATO’s SHAPE in Mons.
Innovation in the defence sector also benefits civil society. “A drone designed for military operations could later be used to transport injured people or put out a fire.”
Next step: meetings in 2027 with AWEX and Walloon companies active in the defence sector at BEDEX, Le Bourget and DSEI Germany.
WAB Magazine
