In today’s turbulent geopolitical environment, NATO member states are making significant efforts to address historical deficiencies in defense spending. Recognizing the need to strengthen national security and increase strategic autonomy, many NATO countries are placing greater emphasis on sovereign and allied capabilities sourced from within their own borders or from nearby European countries, which comprise the majority of NATO membership.
There are two main drivers behind this shift. Four years of war in Ukraine has heightened concerns about regional stability and reinforced the importance of military readiness. At the same time, NATO members face increasing pressure to not only to meet the alliance’s longstanding defence spending target of 2% of GDP, but also to move toward the newly agreed target of 5% by 2035.
Together, these developments are reshaping national defence strategies and creating new expectations for how governments and industry work together.
The new NATO defence investment landscape
The new NATO security dynamic is powering considerable economic activity. In an editorial published by The Washington Post ahead of the recent Ankara summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte argued that a stronger European defence industrial base contributes directly to a stronger NATO. He highlighted the billions of dollars being invested in critical technologies and the economic benefits these investments generate across allied nations.
However, meeting this moment requires changing both policy and mindsets.
Traditionally, industry receives a demand signal from government organizations specifying the capabilities they want. At that point, commercial entities feel confident that making a significant investment in research and development and bringing an innovation to market is a safe enough bet. Those entities then deliver. The cycle repeats as new requirements emerge.
Today that model is evolving. While there is widespread interest in defence spending, there is also some ambiguity about what capabilities will be required to address future threats. NATO governments are seeking collaborative partnerships with the private sector, urging proactive ideation and innovation to maintain operational advantage. While recognizing the commercial sensitivity to risk, there is a tacit undercurrent that the need is real, that money will be spent, and that innovation investments will pay off.
This significant shift in the traditional dynamic between government and the private sector, combined with the rapid advancement of space technologies, creates enormous opportunities for innovation, particularly in space.
Commercial space is changing military communications
The space sector offers a useful model for what is possible. For years, space has been at the forefront of commercial integration in support of national defence and security missions. The difficult, high-cost and resource-intensive nature of space development has led a growing number of governments to increasingly leverage commercial space capabilities rather than build and operate every component themselves.
For governments seeking to strengthen their defense posture, space investments require careful trade-offs. Every dollar spent building and operating infrastructure is a dollar that cannot be directed toward mission execution and operational readiness.
As a result, governments are increasingly turning to commercial capabilities as a way to accelerate access to advanced technologies while preserving resources for operational priorities. But making that shift requires trusted partners that can meet demanding national security requirements.
Those requirements increasingly include sovereign data control, interoperability across allied systems, operational resilience, and the ability to leverage domestic industrial ecosystems. Commercial partners that can support these priorities are emerging as a critical part of NATO’s future architecture.
Sovereign control without owning the infrastructure
As governments evaluate commercial alternatives, sovereignty remains a central requirement. However, sovereignty does not necessarily require owning and operating an entire satellite constellation.
Advanced satellite architectures allow governments to maintain control over their data, security policies, and operational priorities while leveraging commercial infrastructure. This approach enables nations to access advanced capabilities more quickly, scale services as requirements evolve, and focus investment where it can deliver the greatest operational effect.
Just as importantly, these models can support domestic industry. Open, standards-based architectures create opportunities for national technology providers, terminal manufacturers, and systems integrators to participate in the broader ecosystem. Governments can leverage innovations developed within their own countries while maintaining interoperability across allied networks.
The requirements NATO allies increasingly prioritize are clear: sovereign data control, interoperability across allied systems, flexibility, operational resilience, and the ability to leverage domestic industrial ecosystems. Commercial partners that can support these priorities are becoming an increasingly important component of NATO’s future architecture.
A practical example of the new partnership model
A recent example came at the NATO Summit in Ankara, where Canada announced its selection of Telesat Lightspeed to deliver the Military Ka-band (Mil-Ka) Arctic connectivity component of the Canadian Armed Forces’ Enhanced Satellite Communications Project – Polar (ESCP-P) program.
The network’s open architecture approach allows customers to work with multiple terminal manufacturers and integrate with both existing and emerging technologies. This flexibility helps countries preserve prior investments while enabling access to next-generation LEO capabilities. It also creates opportunities for national terminal manufacturers and technology innovators to participate in the broader ecosystem. Rather than being constrained by proprietary systems, NATO nations can leverage domestic innovation while maintaining compatibility across allied networks.
The same philosophy extends to network operations. Through software-defined capabilities, Telesat Lightspeed can dynamically direct significant connectivity into areas of high demand, helping address capacity constraints during periods of heightened operational activity.
Nations can also leverage flexible capacity models that provide dedicated access to LEO resources while retaining control over how those resources are allocated and deployed. In effect, governments gain many of the benefits traditionally associated with owning infrastructure while avoiding the complexity and cost of building and operating an entire space network themselves.
The future of NATO space communications
As NATO members face growing uncertainties and risks, governments are encouraging industry to play a more active role in shaping future capabilities. NATO’s 2025 Rapid Adoption Action Plan recognizes that innovation requires agility, collaboration, and a willingness to adopt new technologies at greater speed. The message to industry is clear: bring forward new ideas, new capabilities, and new approaches that can help maintain operational advantage.
The evolution of commercial space capabilities demonstrates how this new model can succeed. Governments are no longer choosing between sovereignty and commercial innovation. Increasingly, they can achieve both.
As NATO allies modernize their defense architectures, trusted public-private partnerships will become an increasingly important part of the solution. The shift from procurement to partnership is already underway, and space is showing how industry and government can work together to deliver the resilience, flexibility, and operational control that modern defense missions require.
