Defence is not a normal market.
Sovereign demand.
States set demand, not markets. Procurement rules and industrial policy decide who wins, not price.
Concentrated at the top, opaque below.
The top tiers tend toward oligopoly; the lower tiers are barely visible. That opacity is the gap we close.
A high bar to entry.
Regulation, certification, security clearance and relationships keep the sector exclusive. For an SME it arrives as one undifferentiated pile of paperwork.
Lock-in happens early.
Once a programme picks a supplier, that supplier owns the value line. Timing decides everything.
Fog of war in the data.
Employment, sub-tier chains, locations, and indirect dependencies are inconsistent or missing, especially for SMEs.
Performance is more than on-time.
Delivery risk, cost overruns, import dependence, exportability, and sovereign resilience weigh just as heavily.
Novel technology opens the door.
UAVs, autonomy, cyber, and dual-use are where structure is least settled and new entrants can still win.
Why now.
Europe's defence industry is fragmented and hard to enter. We help SMEs work out which rules actually apply to them, get ready, and get in front of the primes who need them.
An integrated European defence supply chain where SMEs compete on merit, not proximity to primes. Readiness that is verified, kept current, and connected to real demand. Our partners are first to know.
Two tracks, one route in.
Defence readiness
We work out which regulations apply to you, assess where you stand, and build a package to close the gaps. Then we keep watching, so readiness does not quietly decay.
Access to primes
We match ready suppliers to prime requirements, broker the introduction and keep them compliant after award. Suppliers with capability worth placing, we represent.
The primes price an SME out of the conversation.
The European Defence Supply Graph
We map the chain end to end and show where a ready SME can enter.
We turn a pile of paperwork into a route in.
Tell us where you want to sell and who you want to supply. We tell you exactly which regulations you have to meet, and which you can ignore.
A score for how ready you are, your gaps ranked by how serious they are, and which contracts each gap keeps you out of.
We match you to what primes are asking for, and make the introduction.
Scope
The regulations that apply to you, worked out from where you want to sell. Nothing more.
Readiness assessment
An analyst scores you on governance, physical security, personnel, information security and supply chain.
Remediation package
A plan to close your gaps, put together for your company and priced per case.
Evidence + expiry
Certificates and evidence expire. We track every date so nothing lapses unnoticed.
Prime matching
We check you against what a prime requires: score, certificates, clearance, location. If you fall short, you see why.
Regulatory watch
When a regulation changes, we tell you what it means for you before it becomes a problem.
From scope to contract, in sequence.
Markets, preferred primes, countries. Where you want to sell decides what applies.
Only the regulations that apply to you, most important first.
A new market means a new framework set and a fresh round of gaps.
Changes detected at the source, before they become a breach.
A score per domain, rolled up into one number a prime can trust.
Every gap tied to a control and ranked by severity.
The unit of work: bespoke, priced case by case.
Evidence expires. We track it so your score does not fall behind your back.
AQAP, ISO, NIS2 and similar: held, expiring, required.
Qualify on score, certifications, clearance and geography.
Which gaps stand between you and a match, and what closing them unlocks.
Introductions through Hardrada, tracked to contract.
Obligations clause by clause, with owners and cadence.
For primes: filter on verified readiness, not self-declaration.
Built for three rooms.
SME & scale-up suppliers
Suppliers / B2BEuropean suppliers who want defence work and need to know what it takes, then get it done.
Prime procurement
Primes / B2BBuyers at primes who need suppliers whose readiness is verified, not self-declared, and kept current after award.
Agencies & programme offices
Government / B2GPublic buyers who need a broader, sovereign supply base that is ready when programmes move.
Get ahead of the chain.
Request early access or an assessment. We reply personally.
Or email us directly at contact@hardrada.eu