Germany is at the forefront of a radical shift in European defence policy, pouring billions into military modernisation and innovative startups, including one that is manufacturing spy cockroaches, as geopolitical tensions escalate with Russia and uncertainties loom over US support.
The country has been for a long time hesitant in embracing militarisation, and its partners too, maintaining the US as Germany’s primary defence guarantor, but is now once again building its military leadership in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones, cyborgs, and autonomous combat systems.
Startled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has accelerated rearmament, with plans to nearly triple its defence budget to $175 billion by 2029. This unprecedented investment is a pivotal moment for Europe, which, for the first time in a decade, has outpaced the United States in military procurement spending. A significant portion of Germany’s budget is now set aside for breakthrough technologies, with startups at the forefront of this revolution.
German cockroach spies already being trialed
One such company is Helsing, Europe’s potentially most lucrative defence startup, valued at $12 billion. It is currently developing combat AI and attack drones, with co-founder Gundbert Scherf likening the current era to the Manhattan Project. Meanwhile, ARX Robotics is advancing autonomous ground systems, and Swarm Biotactics, which recently raised €13 million, is pioneering bio-robotics, including spy cockroaches – living insects equipped with microchips that, through electronic stimulation, can direct a cockroach with a tiny backpack containing a camera and radio receiver. According to the company’s June press release, they are already conducting field trials of the tiny cyborgs.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s cabinet has already approved draft legislation to back this startup and others. The new law will provide advance payments to small companies, simplify bureaucratic hurdles in contracting, and will also prioritise EU-based companies.
This push is in line with broader European efforts, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen championing an €800 billion rearmament plan, which includes €150 billion in loans for air defence and infrastructure modernisation, as well as the most controversial policy of all – a cross-border pact between EU member states on military logistics.
