Europe's Race for Dual-Use Technology Has a New Contender: Vilnius

Europe's rapid expansion of dual-use technologies is creating a new generation of innovation centers, and Vilnius is quickly becoming one of them. With strengths spanning lasers, AI, autonomous systems, and secure communications, Lithuania's capital is building an ecosystem where research moves quickly into real-world civilian and defense applications.

From aerial drones to cybersecurity tools, technologies designed for both civilian and military use have seen increased investment and rapid development in Europe lately. Investment in these “dual-use” technologies increased 25 percent between 2024 and 2025, reaching nearly $1.2 trillion, while over 2,300 new dual-use startups launched across NATO allies in the same period. Supporting a wide range of sectors, from transport and energy to defense and communications, dual-use tech is increasingly important to Europe’s security, infrastructure, and economic interests.

In this climate, emerging tech hubs like Vilnius are establishing themselves as centers for developing and testing versatile technologies like autonomous vehicles and secure communications systems. Such initiatives lay promising foundations for the economic, employment, and security outlook of Lithuania and the wider region.

Turning research into practical dual-use solutions

In recent years, Lithuania has moved from a rich but fragmented innovation ecosystem to a tight-knit network of coordinated efforts, focused on scaling up dual-use tech with real-world applications. The capital’s well-established network of university research groups, technology startups, and defense-focused SMEs is working together, fueled by increased investment, to turn technical know-how and academic research into practical solutions for both civil and military challenges.

"Europe's security increasingly depends on technologies that can move seamlessly between civilian and defense applications. Vilnius has the rare combination of engineering talent, advanced research, and a collaborative ecosystem that allows those technologies to be developed, tested, and deployed much faster than in larger markets," says Artūras Medeišis, Dean of the Faculty of Electronics at VILNIUS TECH, one of Lithuania’s largest research universities for engineering, technology, and business. "The future of defense innovation won't be built only inside defense companies. It will come from universities, startups, and deep-tech businesses working together. That's exactly the ecosystem Vilnius has been building."

“Dual-use technologies are no longer a niche sector; they're becoming part of Europe's industrial future,” says Mangirdas Šapranauskas, Head of Business at Go Vilnius, the city's official tourism and business development agency. “Vilnius is already home to globally competitive companies developing technologies with both civilian and defense applications - from Brolis Semiconductors and Astrolight in photonics to Granta Autonomy and RSI Europe in autonomous and counter-drone systems. Combined with close collaboration between universities, startups, manufacturers and the public sector, this creates an ecosystem where innovation moves quickly from research to deployment and attracts international investment and strategic partnerships.”

Many of Lithuania’s most active dual-use areas feature technologies in high global demand. This includes lasers and photonics, cybersecurity, small satellites, wireless communications, electro-optical systems, drones, counter-drone solutions, and advanced data processing for AI and machine learning.

These tools have essential civilian functions, in everything from environmental monitoring and infrastructure inspections to supporting energy grids and government networks. But these same technologies also have important defense functions, especially for countries that face the threat of disruption to electronic systems and key infrastructure. “For countries like Lithuania, systems must remain functional under constant risk of electronic warfare, GNSS disruption, cyberattack, or infrastructure degradation,” says Medeišis. “This means that future systems must be modular, repairable, locally adaptable, and suitable for fast improvement cycles.”

Building autonomous systems at Vilnius Tech

One major step forward for Vilnius in this area is the creation of the Competence Center for Autonomous, Remotely Operated and Connected Systems (ComARC), led by VILNIUS TECH, with Kaunas University of Technology as the Lithuanian partner and Fraunhofer FKIE in Germany as the international partner. Supported by an 8 million-euro investment, the center will focus on developing technologies such as drones, ground vehicles, maritime systems, and secure communications. Core areas of development will include AI-powered sensing, autonomous navigation, drone swarm management, and specialized microelectronics for tasks such as aerial surveillance, ground logistics, and infrastructure monitoring.

“ComARC is needed now because the security environment has changed. Autonomy, drones, AI, resilient communications, and critical-infrastructure protection are no longer future topics; they are immediate strategic requirements. Lithuania cannot rely only on buying foreign technologies. It must be able to understand, test, adapt, improve, and create such systems locally,” says Artūras Medeišis.

The center is designed to grow alongside new technology and talent needs. Its plans include expanding its team to about 50 researchers, engineers, and technologists across electronics, AI, telecommunications, robotics, and materials. The center will support hands-on field testing of systems such as drones and unmanned vehicles across several Lithuanian cities, using a shared testing platform. By bringing research, industrial prototyping, and field implementation together in one location, the center will build the capacity to quickly turn experimental ideas into working prototypes and products ready to address real-world challenges.

The next generation of European innovation won't be defined only by the biggest economies. It will be shaped by places that can quickly turn research into real-world solutions. Vilnius has built exactly that kind of ecosystem, bringing together talent, industry, and public partners to develop technologies that strengthen both economic competitiveness and resilience.