An unprecedented Belgian defence transformation

Challenge: with the sudden increase to two percent of GDP, and ambition to go towards five percent, as well as additional European funds on the horizon, Belgian Defence faces a complex task: how to effectively programme and manage this influx of resources. There’s pressure to deliver quick wins for readiness (e.g. ammunition stocks and maintenance) while also investing in long-term capabilities. Moreover, accessing EU instruments like Security Action for Europe (SAFE) or the European Defence Fund (EDF) requires multi-national coordination and proposal expertise. Robust financial controls must be in place to track the expanded budget and demonstrate transparency.

Our support: PwC helps translate financial inputs into strategic outcomes. Our financial and programme management consultants bring tools and experience to make sure money is well-spent and aligned to priorities in five key areas.

• Strategic budgeting and prioritisation models

• Programme management office (PMO)

• Navigating EU and NATO funding  

• Financial governance, dashboards, and reporting oversight

• Lifecycle costing and total cost of ownership (TCO) analyses

Challenge: expanding and transforming the armed forces at this rapid pace is a vast human and organisational endeavour. Belgian Defence must attract thousands of new employees in a tight labour market and make sure they’re effectively trained, integrated, and retained. At the same time, the organisation’s structure and processes need modernisation—from adopting a new command model (with the joint staff director and associated staff changes), to updating how decisions are made and how information flows. The culture may need to shift to become more innovative and people-focused and long-standing issues (like initial training attrition or aging infrastructure) must be addressed. This must all happen while maintaining ongoing operations and morale.

These shifts also have implications for the broader defence industry: as Belgian Defence grows and modernises, companies must adapt their own workforce planning, skill profiles, and ways of collaborating to match new requirements, new technologies, and faster delivery cycles. Making sure that both defence and industry have the right people, skills, and organisational capacity is therefore essential for the successful delivery of Belgium’s capability ambitions.

Our support: our people and change specialists work closely with defence and industry partners to build an agile, future-ready organisation. We cover the full spectrum: recruiting, HR processes, training systems, change management, and organisational process redesign.

• Recruitment pipeline design and talent acquisition strategy

• Onboarding design and training capacity expansion

• Retention programmes and people‑centric workforce policies

• Organisational design and change management

• Process redesign and policy implementation support

• Supply chain and resilience projects

Challenge: modern military power hinges on information superiority and secure, resilient digital infrastructure. Belgium’s Policy Note emphasises a “digital defence—resilient, secure, sovereign, and continuously available”, which requires major upgrades to communication systems (tactical radios and satellites), the implementation of robust IT infrastructure across bases, and the continuous hardening of networks and weapon systems against sophisticated cyber threats. New capabilities, such as MQ‑9B drones and future command‑and‑control centres, also demand advanced ICT integration and reliable data flows.

At the same time, both defence and the companies that work with sensitive information or participate in capability programmes must navigate increasing cybersecurity and digital‑sovereignty requirements. A rapidly growing volume of operational, logistics, and intelligence data creates opportunities for analytics, AI, and decision‑support tools, and puts pressure on organisations with limited IT staffing and legacy systems. The establishment of the Cyber Command further raises the need for new structures, processes, tools, and skills in areas not traditionally embedded within the military or the wider industry ecosystem. Ensuring secure integration, interoperable architectures, and consistent cyber resilience across defence and industry partners is now essential for delivering modern capability at scale.

Our support: PwC has extensive expertise at the intersection of defence and technology. Our IT and cyber consultants, including former military IT specialists, can accelerate defence’s digital transformation safely and effectively.

• Digital roadmap development and target architecture design

• Cyber risk assessments and Security Operations Centre (SOC) enablement

• Data analytics and AI solutions

• Cyber Command enablement

• Enterprise systems and process automation

Challenge: the Defence Policy Note places strong emphasis on partnering with Belgian industry and research institutes to build sovereign capabilities and spur innovation. However, aligning military needs with industry offerings requires coordination and expertise. Defence stakeholders must identify which technologies to develop domestically, how to involve local companies (large and small) in procurement, and how to balance speed with supporting the home industry. There’s also the challenge of navigating European collaboration—Belgium wants to participate in joint programmes (like future combat aircraft or tank programmes) but needs to make sure its industry can secure roles in those—otherwise investments might flow abroad. For industrial companies (from established defence primes to tech start-ups), understanding defence’s needs and processes can be daunting, especially for those new to the sector. They might need guidance on compliance, R&D focus, or forming partnerships to bid on big projects. Both sides—defence and industry—share the goal of a stronger Belgian defence technological and industrial base (DTIB), but they need a catalyst to connect them effectively and drive projects forward.

Our support: PwC serves as a bridge and facilitator between defence and industry, bringing a unique dual perspective. Our team has consultants with defence procurement backgrounds as well as those with industry and innovation expertise. We help design partnership frameworks, identify opportunities, and get initiatives off the ground.

• Defence-industry strategy and organisation for defence innovation (ODIN) setup

• R&D collaboration and start-up engagement

• Public-private partnerships (PPPs) and industrial participation

• European programmes and consortia building

Challenge: the aerospace and defence industry in Belgium is confronted with an increasingly complex regulatory and geopolitical trade environment. European sustainability initiatives, such as the EU Green Deal, introduce new compliance requirements that compel companies to embed sustainability, ethical governance, and transparency in their operations. At the same time, Belgian export policies continue to evolve to streamline the processing of military‑related export applications. Globally, geopolitical tensions intensify export controls and sanctions, including measures related to the Russia‑Ukraine conflict, US-China technology restrictions, and the extraterritorial applications of US laws and regulations, creating heightened supply chain uncertainty and limiting market access. Additional trade disruptions from tariffs further increase operational risks and costs. Navigating this landscape requires aerospace and defence companies to build agile compliance and risk‑management capabilities to maintain resilience and competitive advantage.

Our support: to help aerospace and defence firms successfully navigate this evolving landscape, PwC offers a comprehensive suite of services aimed at managing risks and maximising opportunities. We adopt an integrated, cross-functional approach that ensures trade compliance solutions align harmoniously with broader business objectives.

• Export controls and sanctions compliance programmes

• Assisting companies with evolving export controls, licensing, and reporting

• Supply chain resilience amid US-China controls

• Tariff impact modelling and mitigation

• Customs and global trade capabilities for the defence sector

• Customs compliance, sustainability, and emerging trade rules (carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and EU steel requirements)