The fourth panel explored the necessity of accelerating NATO’s interoperability within the Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) concept. Success requires synchronising efforts not only among Allies but also with civil entities and non-military actors, including global industry, the defence sector and academia. Senior leaders discussed how to align innovation, technology and operational concepts across these domains, ensuring that NATO can act as one in the face of complex and rapidly evolving threats.
Panellists: Mrs. Wendy Gilmour, Brig Gen. Robbie Boyd, Mr. Ben Crampton, and Mr. Paolo Pezzola
Key Takeaways:
- Accelerated, effect-driven innovation is essential, with Ukraine providing the leading model.
Rapid capability development depends on tight, continuous collaboration between military operators, government structures, industry and academia. Ukraine’s example of using real-time data integration and agile co-development demonstrates how operational effects, not processes, must drive innovation. - NATO’s current acquisition culture and processes are too slow for modern conflict.
Risk-averse and linear procurement systems that are characterised by rigid requirements, lengthy cycles, and prioritisation of procedural safety over battlefield relevance cannot meet the tempo required for MDO. Faster, more adaptive pathways and a shift in mindset toward calculated risk are urgently required. - Interoperability and resilience hinge on multinational digital infrastructure and open architectures.
Modern operations rely less on hardware and more on software, data systems and cloud networks, many of which are inherently multinational. Outdated sovereignty rules, restrictive legislation, and complex classification practices pose the primary obstacles to interoperability, data mobility and resilience. - Cultural and institutional barriers across nations remain the biggest impediment to progress.
Peacetime mindsets, siloed organisational structures, distrust among allies, and reluctance to embrace new models of collaboration between military, industry and academia slow innovation more than any technological gap. Commanders must set requirements that demand interoperability and multi-domain integration. - Financial systems are emerging as critical enablers of defence capability and innovation.
Banks and investors increasingly recognise that geopolitical instability threatens economic stability, opening opportunities for new financial mechanisms to accelerate capability development. At the same time, safeguarding critical technologies from hostile acquisition is essential. Multi-domain defence efforts will increasingly require coordinated engagement among military actors, governments, industry and the financial sector.
Summary of the panel discussion:
The session explored how democratic nations, alliances and industry must fundamentally change the way they cooperate in response to the war against Russia, using Ukraine’s experience as a model of rapid, integrated innovation. Ukraine showed that effective capability development depends on continuous collaboration between military operators, government and industry rather than slow, linear procurement cycles. Many NATO countries still prioritise procedure, cost control and risk avoidance over speed and adaptability, leaving them ill-equipped to respond to fast-changing threats.
A central theme was the need to rethink digital infrastructure and data policy. Modern cloud systems operate across borders, making purely national approaches to resilience unrealistic. Wartime demands for data storage and processing far exceed peacetime capacity, and restrictive sovereignty rules often undermine resilience rather than protect it. Interoperability has shifted from a hardware challenge to a software and legislative one, requiring updated laws, regular testing and more flexible approaches to data mobility.
Finance emerged as a critical enabler. Banks and investors increasingly recognise that geopolitical instability threatens economic stability, and new financial tools could accelerate defence innovation more effectively than traditional budgets. At the same time, participants warned about the risk of hostile acquisitions of critical technologies and called for stronger security oversight in financial markets.
The role of military leaders is evolving: commanders must now engage not only with operational issues but also with industry, infrastructure providers and financial institutions, shaping the broader ecosystem that underpins military capability. Ultimately, the session concluded that culture is the primary barrier. Institutions continue to operate with peacetime mindsets, slowing decision-making and limiting cooperation. To meet current and future threats, nations must adopt the urgency seen in Ukraine, break down institutional silos, modernise procurement and finance, embrace multinational digital infrastructure and foster leaders capable of operating across operational, technological and economic domains.4
