Why Resilience must be built before it is needed | DefenseTech Hive at Project A Knowledge Conference 2024

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Jannic Meyer, Jack Wang & Marc Wietfeld
August 08, 2024

Welcome 🇪🇺

This week, Marc Wietfeld, founder of DefenseTech company ARX Robotics, reminds us why resilience is something we need to build before it is needed. He explains why defense is all about acting ‘before’ and not ‘after’.

While many are still on summer vacation, event season is also nearing again! Our very own annual Project A Knowledge Conference 2024 is taking place September 20 in Berlin. And this time we have something special for you: an entire ‘hive’ (our word for an all day focus topic based event) on defense. Read on below!

Yours,
Uwe, Jack and Jannic

Defense Hive at Project A’s Knowledge Conference 2024 in Berlin

We are excited to be hosting a dedicated Defense Hive at this year’s Project A Knowledge Conference. We will bring together industry leaders, military stakeholders, VCs and startups to discuss what solutions we can find to increase European resilience.

In collaboration with law firm YPOG, The PAKCon24 Defense Hive will feature insightful discussions on securing funding and hearing first hand from military leaders. We will deep dive into finding ways to navigate regulatory hurdles and foster collaboration between traditional defense companies and innovative start-ups.

Take a look at the agenda and sign up here.

Resilience must be built before it is needed - Insights by a DefenseTech founder

As the founder of ARX Robotics, it is important for me to share some of the insights I have gained after a year of travelling, working in partnership and sharing in Ukraine, on NATO's eastern flank, or with Israeli representatives, on the front lines of the Western world. These are insights that we urgently need to develop in Europe.


Peace is not just one of many needs. Where peace disappears, so do justice, joy, the economy and the hope of whole generations. When war breaks out, everything changes, nothing remains the same. The "before" shapes the "after" - it determines how well we can cope with the "after".



Resilience must be built before it is needed. The "before" is the key that prevents failure during the "after", or even makes it unnecessary. It's about preparing for the worst in order to avoid it!


Defence is a task for the whole of society - in our case, a collective task for Western democracies. Freedom, humanity and justice concern everyone who values them, not just the armed forces, politicians or authorities. Everyone is called upon - this must be understood in the "before" in order to succeed as a society in the "after".


Attacks always come unexpectedly - the attacker always has the initiative in the beginning. It's a question of who can bounce back quickly. There will be heavy losses: a small military in the "before", an indecisive society and/or an unscalable defence industry are doomed to fail in the "after".


Armed forces are no longer a "standing army", but must be flexible, adaptable and technology-driven. It is not the most modern, but the most rapidly modernisable army that generates a decisive advantage. Continuous reflection and adaptation in the "before" lays the foundation for success in the "after".


Unmanned systems in all domains, autonomy and AI, as well as electronic and cyber warfare, have become the other half of modern warfare alongside conventional systems such as artillery, tanks, frigates and aircraft. An armed force that does not fully recognise this and resolutely implement it through training, equipment and integration in the "before" is only half a force and will fail in the "after".


How a war is fought depends on the values of the population and the discipline of the armed forces. This can only be influenced in the "before" and hardly in the "after". Democracies have a collective soul that can be devoured if it is poisoned by success at any cost or by inhumane behaviour in war. Europe must be aware that it is committed to justice and humanity and must preserve this good soul in every situation.


Nothing is more aggressive, more provocative and more conducive to war than geopolitical-strategic indifference, inaction and neglect. It is the duty of our generation in Europe to build resilience, to create such a strong "before" that a negative "after" becomes impossible.



We need a different, a new sense of urgency in Europe.

News That Caught Our Attention 👀

  • Eric Schmidt and Mark Milley tell us that America isn’t ready for the Wars of the Future - Foreign Affairs

  • Jam-Proof Fiber Optic Drone Testing - Forbes

  • Letter: Why aircraft carriers are key to the UK’s future defence - FT 

  • Letter: How the advent of drones reframes the carrier debate - FT 

  • Australia invests another $20M into Autonomous Underwater Vehicles - InnovationAUS

Every week we feature a list of interesting roles in European DefenceTech start-ups and scale-ups for readers seeking their next challenge in their careers.

If you are a founder and would like to promote your open roles, please get in touch with us!

Passionate and want to contribute? 👩🏻‍💻

The European Resilience Tech Newsletter is always looking for regular and guest authors, writers, reporters, content creators etc. If you like what you read, you are passionate about improving European resilience regardless of your background and want to contribute, just reach out to us!

European Resilience Tech Newsletter Team

Uwe Horstmann co-founded Project A Ventures in 2012 as General Partner and has built Project A to be a leading European early stage investor with over $1bn USD under management and having backed 100+ founders. In addition to Project A, Uwe serves as Reserve Officer in the German armed forces and advises the German Ministry of Defence in digital transformation issues.

Jack Wang is a software engineer turned product driven tech investor and joined Project A in 2021 to lead the firm’s deep tech investing, which have grown to include DefenceTech. Prior to joining Project A, Jack worked in a variety of organisations such as Amazon and Macquarie Group across Australia, US and UK / Europe. Jack holds a MBA from London Business School and Bachelors of Engineering (Bioinformatics, 1st) from UNSW, Australia.

Jannic Meyer joined Project A initially contributing to what is now known as the Project A Studio, partnering with founders at the pre-idea stage, where he covered a variety of topics ranging from energy infrastructure to dual-use robotics and led our investment in ARX Robotics. He is now part of the investment team at Project A covering all things resilience.

Project A Ventures is one of the leading early-stage tech investors in Europe with offices in Berlin and London. In addition to 1 billion USD assets under management, Project A supports its 100+ portfolio companies with a platform team over 140 functional experts in key areas such as software and product development, business intelligence, brand, design, marketing, sales and recruiting. Project A have backed founders of Trade Republic, WorldRemit, Sennder, KRY, Spryker, Catawiki, Unmind and Voi as well as founders building in European Resilience: