Atlantic Council launches task force on Reimagining European Defense and Innovation

WASHINGTON, DC - January 14, 2026 - The Atlantic Council announced today the launch ofits Reimagining European Defense and Innovation Task Force, chaired by General (Retired) Christopher G. Cavoli, an Atlantic Council board member, former supreme allied commander Europe (SACEUR), and partner at Valor Equity Partners.

The task force will deliver actionable recommendations for the United States, NATO, EU, and allied capitals to strengthen transatlantic defense industrial capacity, streamline acquisition and procurement processes, and advance innovation and co-production efforts across the transatlantic community at scale with the speed this moment requires.

"The importance and the urgency of rearming our Alliance cannot be overstated," said General Cavoli. "The Atlantic Council, with its formidable research capabilities and its ability to convene the world's top experts, will help cut through the complexities of restoring and updating NATO's defense production. This blue-ribbon panel is just the group to do that."

With NATO allies committed to a new 5 percent defense spending benchmark and the EU advancing plans to incentivize up to 800 billion Euros in defense investment, this once-in-a-generation effort comes as transatlantic defense industries face critical vulnerabilities and capacity shortfalls compared to adversaries. The task force aims to turn these historic commitments into real capabilities that help Ukraine win, restore deterrence with Russia, and grow European economies.

"Allies are investing at historical levels, and we must ensure those investments yield real capability," said Fred Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council. "This task force will help drive the Alliance's demand transformation forward and deliver the speed and scale to meet the moment."

To confront these challenges, the task force brings together former senior officials and thought leaders from across the transatlantic community, including:

• General (Retired) Chris Badia, former deputy supreme allied commander transformation
• Admiral Sir Antony David Radakin, KCB, former chief of defence staff, British Armed Forces
• Tom Goffus, assistant secretary general of NATO for operations (once his public duties at NATO conclude)
• Anne Neuberger, former deputy national security advisor of the United States
• John Ridge, chief adoption officer, NATO Innovation Fund
• Deborah Rosenblum, former acting deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment; former assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs
• Jacek Siewiera, former national security advisor to the president of Poland

This task force will also include senior-level industry leaders representing traditional defense firms and emerging innovators on both sides of the Atlantic. The research team will be led by Stephen Tankel, nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Transatlantic Security Initiative and former director of defense policy and strategy.

The initiative is a joint effort organized by the Atlantic Council's Transatlantic Security Initiative, Europe Center, Cyber Statecraft Initiative, and Forward Defense program, reflecting a whole-of-alliance approach to defense innovation.

For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].

About Atlantic Council

The Atlantic Council promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs, grounded in the Atlantic community's central role in addressing global challenges. The Council provides an essential forum for navigating the dramatic economic and political changes defining the twenty-first century by informing and galvanizing its uniquely influential network of global leaders. The Atlantic Council-through the papers it publishes, the ideas it generates, the future leaders it develops, and the communities it builds-shapes policy choices and strategies to create a freer, secure, and prosperous world.