“We saw the business activity, particularly in tech areas we care about and defense, and now an abundance of deals happening over here [in Europe] that we wanted to be more directly involved in and partake in,” Chris Moran, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s venture arm, told attendees at the Farnborough air show.
Lockheed Martin Ventures' Europe allocation: $100 million commitment
Lockheed Martin’s strategic investment arm has announced it will allocate $100 million to invest in defense-focused companies across Europe. The announcement — disclosed at Farnborough and summarized in a company press release — follows what the press release called the “largest boost” in available capital in the venture fund’s 19-year history. In April, the fund doubled its global investment capacity from $400 million to $1 billion, Moran told Breaking Defense.
London office and the decision to expand directly into Europe
As part of the push, the fund is opening its first office in London. The move is explicitly linked to the desire to be "more directly involved" in European transactions, Moran said, and to participate in a rising volume of deals the fund has observed on the continent. The company framed the Europe-dedicated portion of funding as “part of the company’s commitment to strengthen the transatlantic defense industrial base,” according to the press release.
Technology priorities: quantum, autonomy, advanced manufacturing
Moran identified three technology areas the venture arm intends to prioritize in Europe: quantum computing and sensing, autonomy, and advanced manufacturing technologies. The fund said it is seeking to increase investment in emerging technologies that align with those sectors. Beyond naming the sectors, the fund described the shift to Europe as a response to business activity in “tech areas we care about and defense,” indicating a targeted technology strategy rather than a broad, non-specific allocation.
Pipeline expectations and target countries: 300–500 opportunities; 3–5 investments
Moran projected the fund will review between 300 and 500 investment opportunities in Europe and make concrete investments into three to five European companies over the next several years. He singled out the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands as “high on the leaderboard” for generating business opportunities. Moran explained that these countries stood out when the fund “screen[ed] through the transactions that were done each year, how many deals were closed and how many funding rounds happened,” and concluded that the most activity occurred there.
What this means for technologists, policymakers, and procurement leaders
- Technologists and security teams: Companies working in quantum sensing, autonomy, or advanced manufacturing can expect intensified investor attention and a new source of capital directly connected to a major U.S. defense prime.
- Policymakers and regulators: The fund’s stated aim to “strengthen the transatlantic defense industrial base” and the opening of a London office suggest a more direct U.S. venture presence in European defense technology markets, potentially prompting regulatory and partnership considerations between governments and industry.
- Procurement leaders at defense organizations: With the fund planning a handful of concrete investments (three to five) from a review pipeline of several hundred firms, procurement planners will see a small set of ventures with strengthened ties to a U.S. prime — a factor that may influence future sourcing conversations and supplier evaluations.
The move maps a deliberate, data-driven expansion: a $100 million Europe allocation, a London foothold, sector-specific priorities, and a screening plan that expects to sift through hundreds of opportunities to pick a few strategic partners. The immediate questions the announcement leaves in plain sight are operational — which three to five companies will be chosen, how the London office will interact with local markets and regulators, and how quickly those targeted sectors will yield investable firms that meet the fund’s defense-aligned criteria.
Source: Breaking Defense, “Lockheed Martin Ventures to invest $100M in European defense firms,” July 2026
