Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD)

Access. Funding. Connections. Visibility. Strategy – the ASD Convention 2026 brings all five together in a single dedicated SME Programme. Taking place 27–28 April in Lisbon, and co-hosted with AED Cluster Portugal, the Convention includes a structured track built specifically around the challenges aerospace and defence SMEs face every day. ✅ Access to buyers – the Convention's SME track puts you face-to-face with the prime contractors and Tier-1 suppliers who shape supply-chain partnerships. ✅ Understanding the funding landscape – dedicated presentations on EDF, EDIP, EIC Accelerator, EIB, and NATO DIANA cut through the complexity and show you precisely how to engage. ✅ Networking that delivers – structured sessions designed for SMEs seeking partners, supply-chain entry points, and access to institutional actors, with 300+ senior stakeholders in a single setting. ✅ Visibility in a crowded market – direct engagement with the prime contractors, EU institutions, and financial actors who actually decide. ✅ Understanding the bigger picture – plenary sessions featuring CEO-level speakers and voices from DG DEFIS, EISMEA, and EDA, showing you where European industrial strategy is heading and how to position your company ahead of it. Register and view the full programme: https://lnkd.in/eKzQZKX2

I’ll be joining the EUDIS Business Accelerator Bootcamp in Brussels, hosted at DG DEFIS, where I will contribute both to the panel discussion and deliver an afternoon presentation. The focus will be a simple but critical question: how do we move from “supporting innovation” to actually enabling SMEs and startups to access and operate in the defence market? Today, we all acknowledge the importance of SMEs. Yet, in practice, many still face structural barriers: - limited visibility towards large industrial players - difficulty in navigating EU instruments - low success rates in competitive programmes due to fragmentation and weak positioning If we want different outcomes, we need to approach the problem differently. In my intervention, I will share how, through the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) SME Council and the ASD Connect platform, we are trying to address this gap in a pragmatic way: - making SMEs visible to primes in a structured manner - linking capabilities directly to concrete opportunities - fostering more targeted, challenge-driven collaboration between large companies and innovative players Because in the end, it’s not only about generating innovation, it’s about making sure that innovation actually finds its way into real defence capabilities. Looking forward to the discussion and to exchanging views with the many excellent participants in Brussels. #EUDIS #DefenceInnovation #SMEs #Startups #EDF #ASD #EUDefenceIndustry

For the first time at the ASD Convention – a dedicated SME Programme. This year's ASD Convention (27–29 April 2026), co-hosted with AED Cluster Portugal, offers a particularly strong programme, headlined by a dedicated SME track. The SME Programme has been designed to deliver concrete value and opportunities, including: → Insights from DG DEFIS, EISMEA, EDA and others on how SMEs can engage with European frameworks for market access and funding. → Practical guidance on funding opportunities – presentations covering key instruments such as EDF, EDIP, EIC Accelerator, EIB, and more. → Candid perspectives from major industry players – leading primes will share what they look for in supply-chain partners, and how SMEs can position themselves effectively. → Targeted networking opportunities – including a dedicated speed networking session and a unique concentration of senior industry leaders, institutional actors, and supply-chain partners. Bringing together 300+ senior stakeholders from across the ecosystem, the Convention offers a rare opportunity for SMEs to gain strategic insights, explore funding options, and establish valuable connections in a highly concentrated setting. Full details and registration:  https://lnkd.in/epXd3arv

We are delighted to welcome Terma Group as the newest direct company member of ASD.  Headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark, Terma is a long-established supplier of mission-critical technologies for defence, security and space customers, with a presence in nine European countries and operations spanning air, land, sea, space and cyber domains.  By joining ASD directly, after many years of engagement with ASD via Danish Industry – Defence and Security, Terma will be able to contribute even more actively to joint work on European industrial, regulatory and capability initiatives, and to bring its technological depth and multi-domain expertise directly into ASD’s committees and working groups.   With Terma’s accession, ASD’s membership now comprises 28 direct company members and 23 national associations from 21 European countries, reflecting a genuinely European industrial ecosystem.  ASD Secretary General Camille Grand said: “I am particularly pleased to welcome Terma, a flagship of the Nordic defence industry, into the ASD family. Their profile as a high-tech, medium-sized group with a broad European footprint illustrates the diversity of the industrial base we represent and will further strengthen ASD’s voice as we support a more sovereign and secure Europe.”  Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of Terma Group, said: “As Denmark’s largest defence company, we feel a profound responsibility to deliver mission-critical solutions not only for our own country, but for our European allies and partners. Joining ASD as a direct member allows us to contribute more directly to the dialogue between industry and EU institutions, and to work with peers across Europe to ensure that our collective industrial base is fit for a far more demanding security environment.” https://lnkd.in/einyneCS

ASD is pleased to welcome the leadership of ASD's new Sustainability Commission, Chair Renata Mele, and Vice-Chairs Eva Axelsson, Dr. Monica Streck, and Mathieu Renard, who will work alongside Daniel Del Castillo Mora. ASD's Sustainability Commission focuses on strategic oversight of sustainability direction, regulatory impact assessment for compliance with EU sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements, advocacy on sustainability reporting practices, and supervises ASD's Financing Defence Task Force work strand. We look forward to the Sustainability Commission's contribution as we work together to highlight the sector's contributions to society and enhance the competitiveness of European aerospace, security, and defence industries. Find out more about ASD's Sustainability Commission: https://lnkd.in/eTzyAfcX

We were pleased to host the launch meeting of ASD’s new European Technical Standard Order (ETSO) Working Group earlier this week, bringing together leading European manufacturers to strengthen coordination on (E)TSO regulation in support of aviation safety, quality, and performance. We congratulate co‑chairs Bénédicte Gay (Thales) and Jean Manuel Ferreira (Safran Aerosystems), and thank the 20 experts from 12 ASD member companies who have already joined. And we encourage other direct and indirect ASD members with an interest in ETSO regulation to get involved; you can reach out to Stuart Anderson or Flora Stavropoulou for further information.

On 27–28 April in Lisbon, ASD and AED Cluster Portugal will bring together SMEs, major industrial players and European institutions for the ASD Convention 2026 – a focused two‑day programme built around:    ▸ a dedicated SME Programme on funding, financing and the journey from start‑up to strategic partner; ▸ direct exchanges with EU instruments and financial institutions, including the European Defence Fund, EIC Accelerator, EIF, banks and NATO DIANA;   ▸ high‑level plenary sessions on European civil aeronautics – from industrial strategy to industrial strength – and on “Buy European, build together” for Europe’s defence and technological sovereignty.    If you are an SME, a prime, an investor or an institutional stakeholder working in aerospace, security or defence, we would be delighted to welcome you to Lisbon for these discussions.    Find out more and register here: https://lnkd.in/eKzQZKX2    The ASD Convention 2026 is also a rare opportunity to place your brand at the heart of European aerospace, defence and security decision-making. Sponsorship packages are tailored to deliver meaningful visibility and engagement with an audience of chief executives, EU stakeholders, ministers and institutional leaders. To find out more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact events@asd-europe.org or vg@aedportugal.pt. 

Europe's defence and security industry is at a defining moment – who will help shape its future? ASD is looking for a Defence & Security Manager to join its Brussels-based team at a crucial time for Europe. You will monitor and assess EU and NATO initiatives impacting Europe's defence and security industry, contribute to the development of common industry positions, establish and maintain contacts with relevant EU and NATO stakeholders, and support ASD's outreach and advocacy efforts. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eS8Hh_VY Closing date for applications: 15 March 2026.