The European Investment Fund is putting $45 million into a fund run by Keen Venture Partners as part of Europe’s efforts to foster defense and space startups.
ESA and the European Commission want to come to an agreement around what a future Earth-observation system should look like in advance of funding decisions.
The EU says 12 of its member states have formally said they want to take advantage of an “escape clause” on spending limits to boost outlays for defense.
The European Union wants to broaden the scope of some technology research funding efforts as part of its push to bolster the region’s defense industrial base.
European defense spending may be growing faster now than at any time since World War II, but trends continue to vary significantly from country to country.
Europeans have developed a wariness of relying on U.S. space tech, but the U.S. is light years ahead of its Old World cousins in the emerging space sector.
In a changing world, the dual civil-military use of new technologies and EU competitiveness emerge as additional priorities in the Clean Aviation program.