AI in Defence Market Size 2026-2030: UK, Europe, US, India and China Investment Analysis
Government budgets, fresh contracts, and Q3 earnings disclosures in November spotlight how the UK, Europe, the US, India and China are positioning AI across C2, autonomous systems, and ISR. New tenders, product updates, and policy signals from the past 30 days set the baseline for 2026–2030 spending trajectories.
Strategic Baseline Set by November Disclosures
In the past 30 days, defence ministries, primes, and AI-native contractors have outlined procurement pathways and product roadmaps that anchor forecasts for 2026–2030. Across the UK, Europe, the US, India, and China, the focus is converging on autonomy-at-scale, AI-enabled command and control (C2), and multi-domain ISR—capabilities that will drive both platform retrofits and new-build programs through the decade.
On November investor calls and briefings, platforms with embedded AI—ranging from tactical UAV swarms to edge-compute pods for maritime surveillance—featured prominently in guidance updates. For more on related agritech developments. Analysts cite the latest budget notices and tender activity as evidence that AI allocations are maturing from pilots to production, with sovereign control of algorithms and data pipelines surfacing as a central requirement for NATO-aligned buyers, and vertical integration emphasized in China, according to recent research.
Regional Investment Trajectories: UK and Europe
In the UK, program signals this month point to accelerated AI adoption in mission systems and autonomous experimentation. BAE Systems briefed customers on software-defined avionics milestones that enable AI-assisted sensor fusion for next-gen air combat initiatives, while QinetiQ highlighted trials of human-machine teaming toolchains across air and land test ranges. The UK Ministry of Defence has reinforced its pipeline for rapid AI trials, with new challenge calls channelled through innovation routes such as DASA, aligning with the Defence AI strategy refresh noted in November updates on gov.uk.
Across the EU, November activity around the European Defence Fund (EDF) work scheduling foreshadowed increased 2026–2030 allocations for AI-driven situational awareness, permissive autonomy, and cyber-electromagnetic integration. Thales and Hensoldt signalled continued investment in AI-enabled radar and electronic warfare suites that can be fielded as upgrades across legacy fleets. The European Commission’s defence innovation initiatives underscore data standardization and sovereign AI stacks as priorities for member states, as reflected in recent Commission communications on the EDF and DIANA coordination, European Commission materials show.