Why civilian-first innovation will drive better dual-use technologies

Imagine drones that map disaster zones today and scout military targets tomorrow. Or seismic activity sensors built for construction that go on to detect submarines underwater. These ideas represent the promise of dual-use technologies that serve both civilian and military purposes. For the first time, the European Commission is explicitly proposing to fund them through programmes such as Horizon Europe. But as we race to embrace dual-use technologies, we face a pivotal choice: continue the old model where military applications drive innovation that civilians later adopt, or turn this paradigm on its head?

Technological innovation has long followed a well-trodden path: the military drives development, with civilian applications emerging as an afterthought. Consider GPS, arguably one of the most successful dual-use technologies in history. Originally developed by the US Department of Defence in the 1970s, it was designed for military positioning and navigation. Civilian access was restricted by “Selective Availability” — a feature that intentionally degraded accuracy to preserve the military’s advantage. 

The full potential of GPS remained unrealised for decades until the deactivation of Selective Availability in 2000, instantly making it 10 times more accurate for civilian users. It quickly became a technology that most of us rely on every day, sparking innovations that transformed industries from agriculture to transportation. A 2019 study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) estimated that GPS had generated $1.4 trillion in economic benefits. 

This military-first approach, as we’ve seen with GPS, has dominated innovation funding for decades. Yet there’s compelling evidence that civilian-first approaches to dual-use technologies both better serve society’s immediate needs and ultimately produce more robust solutions for all applications — including military ones.

The traditional model overlooks a critical reality: civilian markets provide both scale and diversity of applications that drive innovation in ways the more specialised military sector cannot match. This pattern repeats across technological domains. Internet protocols developed for military communications found their greatest evolution in civilian applications, before returning to enhance military systems. The commercial drone industry has accelerated aerial innovation far beyond what military procurement alone could achieve.

By focusing on civilian-first use cases, innovation can leverage larger markets, more diverse applications, and faster development cycles. When technologies are developed with broad civilian applications in mind, they benefit from economies of scale that military-only development cannot achieve. 

This is in part because civilian innovation faces fewer bureaucratic constraints. Military procurement cycles can span years or even decades, while civilian markets reward agility and rapid iteration. Developing for civilian use first allows technologies to evolve and mature faster than would be possible under traditional defence procurement timelines.

The most promising dual-use breakthroughs come from tackling fundamental technical challenges rather than specific operational functions. When innovators focus narrowly on military operations, they often miss the broader potential of their technologies. Scientific potential isn’t abstract; it only becomes real through implementation.

The challenge of developing robust navigation systems that work without GPS is a perfect example. A solution that enables delivery drones to navigate urban environments reliably could revolutionise logistics while simultaneously providing capabilities critical for defence operations. By emphasising civilian applications while acknowledging potential military uses, we create space for innovations that might otherwise never emerge.

Research from the European Commission on introducing a military tech aspect to the successor to Horizon Europe found that academic and research institutions would prefer to stick to the status quo, and keep Europe’s R&D funding solely for civilian technologies. By providing funding pathways that respect these preferences, we expand the talent pool, addressing critical technological challenges. Given the financial strains and political pressures in US higher education, Europe could attract top innovators from across the Atlantic by creating an environment aligned with their core values. 

As Europe intensifies its focus on strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty, dual-use technologies will play an increasingly important role. The EU’s recent moves to allow dual-use funding through programs such as Horizon Europe represent an important shift in how we approach innovation. But as these initiatives take shape, they must avoid simply replicating the traditional military-first model.

By prioritising civilian use cases while acknowledging military applications, we can leverage market forces, attract diverse talent, and produce more robust technologies for all applications. 

Yet for dual-use development to be truly durable, civilian and military technologies must no longer be siloed – we have to bridge the gap between civilian first R&D and military use cases. Given the chasm that exists between the way these two sectors operate, this will need to be an active process. Initiating more open knowledge exchange would better apply insights and learnings from both worlds back and forth. For bodies that focus on military technology, it is time to incubate a civilian equivalent. Conversely, organisations like mine — SPRIND, the German federal agency for disruptive innovation — focused on civilian technology, should also explore military applications.

The challenges we face — from climate change and energy security to supply chain resilience — require technological solutions that serve multiple purposes. The old dichotomy between civilian and military innovation is increasingly outdated in a world where the most powerful technologies inevitably serve both domains. The transformative dual-use technologies of tomorrow are closer than we think — if we focus on civilian use cases today.