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Regions support Defense in finding innovative companies

November 6, 2025
To have the right equipment, the Ministry of Defense invests heavily in innovation. Defense focuses, among other things, on dual-use applications: products and services that can be used both civilly and militarily. Innovative SMEs are a crucial supplier and contribute significantly to our autonomy, safety, and the future earning capacity of the Netherlands.
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Today, Secretary of State for Defense Gijs Tuinman and the regional development agencies (ROMs), provinces, and businesses will sign a letter of intent (LOI) in the regions of East, Central Netherlands, North Holland, and Zeeland. They too will commit to further strengthening the innovative power of Defense. Previously, agreements were made with South Holland, Limburg, and North Brabant.

The collaboration between businesses and defense is increasingly taking shape, which is beneficial for overall innovation strength. We are seeing more and more opportunities to bring innovations with dual-use applications to the market more quickly: a win-win for all parties.
Brigit van Dijk – van de Reijt
Brabant Development Agency (BOM) namens ROM Netherlands

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Mariëlle van Bijsterveld

Program Manager NATO DIANA Accelerator The Gate Brainport / Venture Developer Key Technologies

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Roland Grimm

Programme Manager

The official signing of the LOI took place during the Purple Nectar Event 2025 in Nijkerk. This knowledge and innovation event of Defense focuses on exchanging the latest technological applications.

Faster innovation

The aim of the LOI between Defense and the regions is, among other things, to identify regional solutions. Ideas that can help Defense to innovate faster and surprisingly, for example in the field of smart materials, maintenance, ICT, and artificial intelligence. Concrete examples of such innovations include a solution against jamming, the deliberate disruption of wireless communication, as well as advanced drone technology to automate area mapping.

The Ministry of Defence has previously made agreements with the regions of Limburg, South Holland, and North Brabant. With this signing, we are getting very close to national coverage.
Gijs Tuinman
State Secretary of Defense

The collaboration with VDL and Brightlands in Limburg is an outcome of this previous connection.

Defense and ROMs already support companies with extensive tools. With risk capital, including through the SecFund, innovation hubs, venture building via the NATO incubator DIANA and trade missions such as recently to Riga and the USA. The relationship between defense and the ROMs goes back decades. In some regions and municipalities, defense is an important employer and thus of economic value in the overall ecosystem.

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